David Popper: Cellist and Composer

Guest Blogger: Janet Horvath is the author of Playing Less Hurt. Here is an excerpt of her article on David Popper at Interlude.

David Popper

Composer and cellist David Popper is well known among cellists. His High School of Cello Playing is our Bible—40 Études comprising every acrobatic feat of cello pyrotechnics.

Popper was born among the narrow streets of the Jewish ghetto of Prague, Czechoslovakia June 16, 1843. David was five years old when in 1848 the Hapsburg emperor granted civil equality to the Jews and their isolation in the ghetto ended. The gloomy, unhealthy homes of the ghetto made a lasting impression on Popper despite the fact that most of his music is cheery and uplifting. The family was able to move out of the area when Popper was eight years old. By then employment restrictions had been lifted and some trades were permitted, as was being a musician.

Popper’s father was a Cantor—the religious leader who sings the prayers in the Synagogue. At a very young age Popper began to imitate his father’s singing. Popper’s talent was such that he was allowed to study with the famed cello pedagogue Julius Goltermann, (a name cellists are familiar with due to his cello compositions.)

In December of 1862 Popper was bestowed the coveted title of “Kammervirtuoso” by Prince Constantine Hohenzollern-Hechingen. In appreciation, Popper composed a series of pieces that are among his most cherished works Arlequin and Papillon from the Six Character Pieces. Conductor Hans von Bülow, heard Popper perform and was so impressed with the young man that he helped arrange a concert tour for Popper, his first, in 1863. As a solo cellist Popper had the opportunity to try his own compositions as well as to perform the major works for cello and orchestra. He was always dedicated to the music of his time, premiering several new cello concertos.

Find out more about David Popper on Janet Horvath’s blog!

Playing Less Hurt

Making music at any level is a powerful gift. While musicians have endless resources for learning the basics of their instruments and the theory of music, few books have explored the other subtleties and complexities that musicians face in their quest to play with ease and skill. The demands of solitary practice, hectic rehearsal schedules, challenging repertoire, performance pressures, awkward postures, and other physical strains have left a trail of injured, hearing-impaired, and frustrated musicians who have had few resources to guide them.

Playing Less Hurt addresses this need with specific tools to avoid and alleviate injury. Impressively researched, the book is invaluable not only to musicians, but also to the coaches and medical professionals who work with them. Everyone from dentists to orthopedists, audiologists to neurologists, massage therapists and trainers will benefit from Janet Horvath’s coherent account of the physiology and psyche of a practicing musician. Writing with knowledge, sympathetic insight, humor, and aplomb, Horvath has created an essential resource for all musicians who want to play better and feel better.

Happy Birthday, Willie Nelson!

It’s Willie Nelson’s 80th birthday today!

Guest Blogger: Randy Poe, author of Stalking the Red Headed Stranger.

Randy Poe and Willie Nelson

Unless you were listening to country radio in 1962, you probably aren’t aware that Willie Nelson had two Top Ten singles on Liberty Records that year. “Willingly” – a duet with Shirley Collie – entered the charts in March, followed two months later by “Touch Me,” Willie’s first solo venture to reach the Top Ten.

It would be thirteen years before Nelson would have another hit single. In 1975, his recording of “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” went to number one on the country charts, number twenty-one on the pop charts, and number twelve on the adult contemporary charts. Before long, Willie Nelson was on his way to becoming a household name via records, concerts, movie roles, television appearances, and – well – just being Willie Nelson.

While I was researching Willie’s life story for my book Stalking the Red Headed Stranger, the main trait I personally found to be most admirable about the man was his indomitable determination.

When he scored that first Top Ten hit in 1962, Willie was twenty-nine years old. When he followed it up with another Top Ten hit a couple of months later, major stardom must have seemed just around the corner. However, his next few singles didn’t make the kind of noise those first two had, and by 1965, Liberty Records had closed it Nashville offices, leaving Willie without a label.

Despite that dry spell during his last couple of years on Liberty, Willie was soon signed to the all-powerful RCA Records – home of Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, Hank Snow, and a host of other country giants.

Chet Atkins – RCA’s head honcho in Nashville – was so confident he’d signed a winner that he assigned himself the task of producing Nelson’s records. With the combination of RCA and Chet Atkins on his side, Willie’s next hit single was virtually a fait accompli. But it quickly became apparent that Chet’s “Nashville Sound” production methods (lots of background singers, lots of strings) just didn’t work in Willie’s world. Year after year, single after single, album after album, Nelson’s career remained in neutral, if not reverse.

After seven years of failure, Willie’s days at RCA mercifully came to an end. Atlantic Records was next. By then, Willie was forty years old. Most country singers have had their last number one hit long before they hit forty. Willie was yet to have his first. Two years, two albums, and six singles later, Atlantic Records – just as Liberty had done in the mid-’60s – got out of the country music business, leaving Nashville and Willie behind.

Despite the fact that Nelson had now gone over a dozen years without anything close to a hit, Columbia Records was waiting in the wings – not only ready and willing to sign the singer, but to also give him complete creative control over his recordings for the label.

The end result was Red Headed Stranger, a concept album that broke the mold in country music with its dark story line, its stark instrumentation, and its number one single, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”

After that – as the deejays say – the hits just kept on comin’.

* * * * *

Willie Nelson turns eighty today. His musical talents have been known throughout the world for decades. But what if he’d given up after that first year on RCA with no hits, or that second year, or that sixth or seventh year? Anyone could understand why he might call it quits after none of his albums or singles on Atlantic made much noise either.

Just like millions of others, I’m a huge fan of Willie’s music. I also admire his work with Farm Aid, Habitat for Horses, and the other important causes he has championed over the years. But it’s pretty safe to say that without his incredible, indomitable determination – at least as far as his recording career is concerned – Willie Nelson might very well be remembered today as just another singer who had a couple of Top Ten hits in the early 1960s.

Happy birthday, Willie. Thanks for all of your contributions to the world of music – and for reminding us that talent is an asset, but determination is invaluable.

Stalking the Red Headed Stranger

Stalking the Red Headed Stranger is a guide to the art and history of professional song plugging. But this isn’t your run-of-the-mill history book/instruction manual. It is an in-depth, up-close look into the real music business by industry insider and Grammy Award nominee Randy Poe, who has represented literally hundreds of the greatest songs in the history of popular music, including “Stand By Me,” “Happy Together,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Under the Boardwalk,” “Hound Dog,” “What a Wonderful World,” “Spanish Harlem,” “Chapel of Love,” “Summer in the City,” “Love Potion No. 9,” and “Kansas City.”

But wait! There’s so much more! Interwoven throughout this entertaining and enlightening book is the hysterical saga of the author as he chases American icon Willie Nelson across Canada – via plane, taxi, rental car, and even ferryboat – in an attempt to pitch a single song to the Red Headed Stranger. And what happens on Willie’s bus doesn’t stay on Willie’s bus.

Arvo Pärt – The Bach of Our Century

Guest Blogger: Janet Horvath is the author of Playing Less Hurt (Hal Leonard Books). Below is an excerpt from her blog on Interlude. Please visit her blog to read the whole article.

It is said that Estonian composer Arvo Pärt is the Bach of our century. An unassuming man with furrowed brow, a big bushy salt and pepper beard, and serious contemplative demeanor, this contemporary composer, does not tend to make people want to run the other way. Even non-classical music fans know and love his music. Transcendent, spiritual, otherworldly and soothing are words that jump to mind when describing Part’s accessible music.

The Concert and Opera League tabulates the composers who were featured the most during a year. Beethoven and Mozart of course are ensconced at the top. Not surprisingly, due to Debussy’s birthday this year, he is in the top 10.

Arvo Pärt for the second year in a row, is the most performed living composer at number 54.

Keep reading this article on Interlude!

Making music at any level is a powerful gift. While musicians have endless resources for learning the basics of their instruments and the theory of music, few books have explored the other subtleties and complexities that musicians face in their quest to play with ease and skill. The demands of solitary practice, hectic rehearsal schedules, challenging repertoire, performance pressures, awkward postures, and other physical strains have left a trail of injured, hearing-impaired, and frustrated musicians who have had few resources to guide them. Playing Less Hurt addresses this need with specific tools to avoid and alleviate injury.

More Tips for Studio One Users

William Edstrom Jr. is the author of Studio One for Engineers and Producers.  Here are some video tutorial excerpts from the DVD.  For more tips on Studio One, check out this post about Larry the O’s series, Power Tools for Studio One 2.  

RECORDING TO LAYERS

Setting Tempo of Imported Audio Tutorial

Comping Example

Audio Bend Examples

Find more great tutorials for DAWS software and other music-related skills on our MusicPro Guides YouTube channel!

Studio One for Engineers and Producers

Studio One for Engineers and Producers is specifically designed to help engineers and producers who are already comfortable using another DAW software platform make the transition to Studio One. Text, illustrations, and video examples (on the accompanying DVD-ROM) demonstrate the creative, practical, and technical benefits provided by PreSonus in this modern, well-developed, flexible, and user-friendly application. All instruction is presented in straightforward and simple language that gets right to the point, taking into consideration the need for amateurs, home studio owners, and commercial professionals to get up to speed very quickly.

This Quick Pro Guide starts by relating Studio One’s layout and functionality to other common DAWs, to identify the most important similarities and differences. It then follows the creative process through the normal progression of a modern recording/production, to help the reader get to work as soon as possible. This new cross-platform (Mac/PC) DAW is built from the ground up for speed, efficiency, and power; Studio One for Engineers and Producers is the perfect tool to shorten the pathway from installation to inspiration!

How Straight No Chaser Changed The Game

Guest Blogger: Deke Sharon is the co-author (with Dylan Bell) of A Cappella Arranging. The following is an excerpt from his blog on Casa.org. Please pay them a visit for more a cappella news and discussions from Deke, who has produced music for the a cappella sensation Straight No Chaser.

They’re the funny Christmas song guys, right?

Yup. And they just sold out a 6,500 seat venue in Connecticut.

When you’re looking at the a cappella landscape over the past decade, no group has changed the game more than Straight No Chaser.

Yes, they were incredibly lucky when Atlantic Records called, but for 99 out of 100 groups, the story ends there. A cute footnote for a few thirtysomethings that had a viral video from a concert that happened decade before.

But it didn’t, because Straight No Chaser is group like no other, re-writing vocal music history year after year. What have they shown the world?

Ten Is Enough (and not too many)

Name a band with 10 people. I can’t. Maybe when you add up background singers and the like, but that’s not the band, that’s the road show. SNC is ten guys, always ten guys. Rock bands are 4 people, and theatrical shows are 30 people. You just don’t see 10 people on stage, and that kind of curiosity can be a deal breaker for promoters. They’re a cappella already… and they also chose a format that’s not done. And yet they made it work. Not only the number of guys was a risk, but…

Thirty Is Not Too Old To Start

Maroon 5 didn’t have their first hit until they were about to throw in the towel, but they don’t act or dress like they’re 30, and they’d been performing for years, building a fan base and learning the ropes. Straight No Chaser’s formula is not kids running around on stage like a band, it’s more like the Rat Pack: classy gentlemen in suits singing songs you love and making you laugh between songs. Sit out your 20s, then start your career in popular music in your 30s? Not done. Impossible. Until now.

To read read Deke’s next 4 reasons, visit this blog post on Casa.org!

The tone of the book is instructive and informative, yet conversational: it is intended to stand alongside any academic publication while remaining interesting and fun. A Cappella Arranging is a good textbook – and a “good read” – for every vocal arranger, whether amateur or professional; every vocal music classroom, and any professional recording studio.

The Producer’s First Meeting

Guest Blogger: Bobby Owsinski is the author of The Music Producer’s Handbook, one of guides in his Handbook series along with The Touring Musician’s Handbook and The Studio Musician’s Handbook.  Below is an excerpt from his music production blog, The Big Picture.

Almost everyone knows the main phases of an album project (preproduction, tracking, overdubs, mixing, mastering), but the fact of the matter is that there’s one more phase that actually begins the process – the meeting.

That’s where the producer meets with the artist for the first time and they both decide if they like each other, can work together, and most importantly, be creative together. Of course, there may be other meetings before this decision is finally made, but the first one is critical for both the producer and the artist.

The problem is that any times the artist or band doesn’t know exactly what to do or expect (especially one without much experience), so that leaves it up to the producer to guide things. Here are some questions to ask to determine if you’re a good fit with the artist.

What are some of your favorite records? Why?

What are your biggest influences? Why?

What recordings do you like the sound of?

What kind of sound are you looking for?

To read the rest of Bobby O’s questions, visit his blog!

The Music Producer’s Handbook

The Music Producer’s Handbook (another book in Bobby Owsinski’s successful Handbook series) describes in detail the duties and responsibilities of a music producer. In his thoughtful, down-to-earth, and savvy style, Bobby O. brings his wealth of experience to bear in answering the questions faced by all budding music producers: How do I become a producer? How do I get the best out of the musicians or vocalist? How do I get a great mix? How much money can I make? Covering the entire range of producer concerns, from organizing each phase of the production to mastering the final mix, The Music Producer’s Handbook takes a sometimes intimidating and mystifying process and breaks it down to an entertaining tutorial that will fatten the toolkits of professionals as well as novices. As with all the books in the Handbook series, a third of the book is dedicated to exclusive interviews with name producers who share their techniques and stories with the reader. An accompanying DVD takes the viewer through each phase of the production process.

 

 

 

Don Kirshner’s Birthday

Guest Blogger:  Rich Podolsky, the author of Don Kirshner: The Man with the Golden Ear, writes in with a piece in celebration of Don Kirshner’s birthday today.

Don Kirshner Got His Wish

A year ago, just before what would have been his 78th birthday, Don Kirshner got his wish and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, what should have been a slam dunk didn’t come so easily.

You’d think that discovering and developing three of the greatest songwriting teams of all time—Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and Barry Mann and Cythia Weil—would have been enough to get him there in one of the first years the Hall opened its doors.

Or the fact that he developed the Monkees, created the Archies and also discovered and Kansas—the band not the state—would have put him on the Hall’s doorstep.

Or at least if anyone took into consideration that he created and hosted the most successful and dynamic rock ’n’ roll show in television history, he should have been able to walk into the Hall of Fame. Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, which ran for nearly a decade and presented more than 500 of the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll acts, ran from 1973 to ’82 and in the 30 years since it still hasn’t been surpassed.

But Don Kirshner was the bitter enemy of Ahmet Ertegun, the man who founded the Hall of Fame along with his partner Gerry Wexler, and until Ertegun passed away Kirshner had no chance for admittance. Even after his passing Kirshner was ignored by the insiders who comprise the Hall’s nominating committee.

Unfortunately Don Kirshner had to die to get in. After dying of heart failure early in 2011, Carole King campaigned vigorously and got her former boss in the Hall’s back door last April. His wife, Sheila, accepted the award, ironically named the Ahmet Ertegun Non-Performer Award.

After King made a passionate speech in his behalf she handed the award to Sheila, who hoisted it over her head in victory and proclaimed, “Donnie, you made it, babe.”

Somewhere up there Don Kirshner was enjoying the moment.

Rich Podolsky—

Author of Don Kirshner: The Man with the Golden Ear, and Neil Sedaka: Rock ‘N’ Roll Survivor (due 9/1/13)

Don Kirshner: The Man with the Golden Ear

In 1958, long before he created and hosted Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, the most dynamic rock-and-roll series in television history, before he developed the Monkees and created the Archies, Don Kirshner was a 23-year-old kid with just a dream in his pocket. Five years later he was the prince of pop music. He did it by building Aldon Music, a song publishing firm, from scratch. This is about how he did it – with teenage discoveries Bobby Darin, Carole King, Neil Sedaka, and more.

By 1960, at the ripe old age of 25, Kirshner had built the most powerful publishing house in the business, leading Time magazine to call him “the Man with the Golden Ear.” In five short years he coaxed and guided his teenage prodigies to write more than 200 hits. And they weren’t just hits, as it turned out, but standards – including “On Broadway,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “Up on the Roof,” “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” “I Love How You Love Me,” “Who Put the Bomp,” and “The Locomotion” – songs that have become the soundtrack of a generation. “We weren’t trying to write standards,” said one songwriter. “We were just trying to please Donnie.”

In Touch with The Planets

Guest Blogger: Janet Horvath, the author of Playing Less Hurt, poses a few questions to classical fans at her blog on Interlude.

Holst called the piece “a series of mood pictures.” The piece The Planets — a seven movement orchestral suite, is an example of brilliant and imaginative orchestral writing. The term orchestration includes the choice of instruments, the exploitation of each instrument’s possibilities of range, color, and dynamics and the combinations of instruments that might be unique. This contributes to the richness and uniqueness of the sounds you hear. Holst uses some unusual and more rarely used instruments in this piece — the alto flute, bass oboe, organ, celeste, two harps, and several timpani.

I. Mars – The Bringer of War

Notice at the beginning of the piece there is a clicking or percussive sound and it is not coming from the percussion section. That is a string technique called “col legno.” The string players hit the string with the stick of the bow for this sound. Now try to guess the meter. Hint: it’s irregular.)

1. _______________________________ Later this unrelenting rhythm is played by the trumpet and strings with their bows.

Which instruments are featured in the theme: the threatening bringers of war? Which section?

2. _____________________ and name the instruments

five of them___________________________________

Advanced question: which instruments play this rhythm over and over

(Hint: It’s a brass and a percussion instrument)

3. _______________________ and _____________/___________ then another percussion instrument __________________________

(the second instrument is two words. This is very unusual scoring.)

The rhythm is menacing and mounts in tension. Soon there is an all out fanfare symbolizing war. Listen for the Euphonium solo about a third of the way through seemingly representing the “other side” which is crushed. The decisive unison chords at the end of the movement leave no doubt!

II Venus – The Bringer of Peace

This movement is markedly contrasting. First it is adagio or very slow. Note the very high horn playing virtually alone. It feels lonely. There is another instrument with extensive solos. (Hint: it’s a woodwind instrument)

4. __________________________

Listen for the solos, (i.e. one player), in the violin and the cello section. The concertmaster and the principal cello are responsible to play these solos — a requirement of the position of a principal player. Composers frequently utilize the choice of one instrument. Notice also that the writing is very high in pitch and sparsely scored. Perhaps this makes the listener feel more peaceful or pensive. It certainly has an air of calmness. The string writing is lovely. Listen about 14 minutes in for a bell like sound. What instrument is this? (Hint it’s keyboard instrument)

5. ____________________________

III Mercury – The Winged Messenger

This short movement is marked “vivace” or light and in a fast 6/8 meter. Notice the conductor. What does he/she conduct it in? (i.e. the beat patter?)

6. ___________________________

Near the beginning of the movement you will hear again the bell -like keyboard instrument. In the middle of the movement the tempo gets faster, The conductor will most likely conduct one beat per bar but the orchestra plays 6 notes per bar. It has a light feel as the musicians play “staccato” notes of very short duration with space before and after them. You will hear the piccolo play with the bell-like keyboard instrument playing in the same range toward the end.

IV Jupiter – The Bringer of Jolity

This movement begins in a fast “allegro” 2/4 meter. Soon it will change to a slow 3/4 with the horns playing the melody loudly. Notice that the orchestra makes an ”accelerando” (to get faster.) It is conducted in one beat to a bar. Later a lovely stately melody occurs in all the strings. It sounds so British! It’s in unison i.e. all the strings are playing the melody together at the same pitch. All the bows are moving as if in a ballet. The musical signs to do this are coordinated, planned and marked in the parts ahead of time by the concertmaster and principal players, often in consultation with the conductor who may have a special phrasing or articulation in mind. Even if the various string sections do not play a particular melody simultaneously, the bowing must be consistent throughout to maintain the right phrasing and mood. An orchestral librarian will mark the bowings into all of the parts. Listen also as Holst adds more percussion including the tambourine and xylophone.

V Saturn – The Bringer of Old Age

Saturn begins with three flutes. The alto flute plays the lowest notes. The first 26 bars consist of chords in a syncopated rhythm (irregular rhythm) in the flute and harps. A beautiful low double bass melody accompanies the flutes — quite unusual scoring. Very near the beginning after the cellos play their long note you’ll hear the bass oboe. (29 min) This instrument is very unusual. It sounds a little like an English horn. Also notice that the cellos and basses are plucking their strings. This is called pizzicato. Notice the beautiful and stately melody played by three players of the brass section. Which instrument is this? (Hint: they sound different than they usually do)

7.___________________________________

You’ll hear the alto flute at 31 min, and long suspended bells at about 32 minutes. This movement has a march-like feel but more labored as if older people are marching.

Near the end, when the solo basses return, you will hear them accompanied by a very interesting sound. They are harp harmonics. All strings can produce harmonics. This is the effect produced by lightly touching the string. The result is the sounding of the fundamental pitch with no overtones and hence it sounds a little like a whistle sound. The movement ends without resolution via long notes suspended in the violins. Holst attains a certain calm, or perhaps acceptance?

VI Uranus – The Magician

This movement utilizes the interesting meter 6/4. It is conducted in two (six quarter notes per bar, two beats of three quarter notes each similar to the 6/8 rhythm.) The bassoons introduce the rhythm. It begins with a huge trumpet/trombone part with a staccato, creeping bassoon/xylophone/tuba melody, which creates the sense of a crafty sorcerer. Listen also for the two timpani players who play five drums each. There’s a huge chordal climax, which fools us into thinking the movement, and even the piece is ending. But no! Suddenly Holst take us by surprise. We hear long held string notes and harp interjections as Holst ends the movement quite abruptly.

VII – Neptune – The Mystic

Here’s another chance to hear the alto flute accompanied by or very fast repeated notes in the harp called tremolo. The movement begins with the principal flute, the alto flute and the harp. This movement sounds Debussy-like and impressionistic with vague washes of sound and the mysterious alternation of two unrelated chords E minor and G# minor. Here’s the same irregular meter as the first movement but in this case it is slow,

8. ___________________________

Once again Holst has the higher pitches dominate. At about 45 minutes we get a chance to hear the whole clarinet section—the two oboes, bass oboe, and English horn. Soon thereafter, suddenly a women’s chorus enters seemingly from nowhere. Where has the composer chosen to place them?

9. _______________________________

Note that they sing wordlessly. What mood do you think Holst is trying to convey by doing this?

10. _________________

This movement is eerie and distant — very delicately scored and performed “pianissimo” (extremely quietly.) It leaves the listener unsettled — not the bombastic ending one might have expected after the flashy and brilliant opening we heard at the beginning of the piece.

Although this piece is a very popular orchestral work and frequently performed, Holst didn’t especially care for it. There’s no accounting for taste! Ravel disliked his Bolero too!

Visit Janet Horvath’s blog at Interlude for the answers to the quiz!

Playing Less Hurt

Making music at any level is a powerful gift. While musicians have endless resources for learning the basics of their instruments and the theory of music, few books have explored the other subtleties and complexities that musicians face in their quest to play with ease and skill. The demands of solitary practice, hectic rehearsal schedules, challenging repertoire, performance pressures, awkward postures, and other physical strains have left a trail of injured, hearing-impaired, and frustrated musicians who have had few resources to guide them.

Playing Less Hurt addresses this need with specific tools to avoid and alleviate injury. Impressively researched, the book is invaluable not only to musicians, but also to the coaches and medical professionals who work with them. Everyone from dentists to orthopedists, audiologists to neurologists, massage therapists and trainers will benefit from Janet Horvath’s coherent account of the physiology and psyche of a practicing musician. Writing with knowledge, sympathetic insight, humor, and aplomb, Horvath has created an essential resource for all musicians who want to play better and feel better.

More Tips for Pro Tools 10 Users

Glenn Lorbecki is the author of Power Tools for Pro Tools 10, and 2 books in Hal Leonard’s Quick Pro Guide series, Tracking Instruments and Vocals with Pro Tools and Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools. Below are excerpts from the DVD that comes with Power Tools for Pro Tools 10.

SETTING UP A ROUGH MIX

More video tips for Pro Tools 10:
Using Direct Plug-ins
Recording and Playback
Automation

See also: Tips for Pro Tools Users from Tracking Instruments and Vocals with Pro Tools

Find more great tutorials for DAWS software and other music-related skills on ourMusicPro Guides YouTube channel!

Power Tools for Pro Tools 10 provides a detailed look inside one of Avid’s most exciting Pro Tools releases yet. Instructor, certified Pro Tools trainer, and award-winning producer/engineer Glenn Lorbecki will walk you through the best ways to get the most of out of Pro Tools 10. See and experience the new features incorporated in this powerful software offering, all the way from the new ways it handles data, memory, and gain functions to some seemingly small updates that make a huge difference in your productivity. This focused and comprehensive guide provides excellent instruction in the newest Pro Tools 10 features; at the same time, it establishes a foundation of technical and creative protocol that will help beginning and intermediate users – as well as seasoned professionals – establish the most expedient work flow while recording, processing, and mixing the highest quality audio.

Happy National Barbershop Quartet Day!

Celebrating National Barbershop Quartet Day, here is a recent blog post from one of our a cappella experts…

Guest Blogger: Deke Sharon is the co-author (with Dylan Bell) of A Cappella Arranging. The following is an excerpt from his blog on Casa.org. Please pay them a visit for more a cappella news and discussions from Deke.

BOSS: A Little Bit Of Magic

It doesn’t make sense, at least on paper.

A cappella is at its best when precise, when clean and rich; an impressive, well balanced array of sounds akin to popular music with instruments.

Why then would I get up on stage and perform music I haven’t rehearsed? Music I perhaps don’t even know?

Well, it all started a decade ago in a town called Bremerhaven in Northern Germany. The House Jacks were performing for a packed club (“Pumpwerk,” a former waterworks of some kind), at which we were told a couple hundred of the attendees were all from the same company.

Northern Germans speak English better than most Americans (!), so we conduct our entire show in English, joking with the crowd between songs, and I recall the banter that night was particularly cheeky, probably due to the audiences obvious inebriation. Garth, our tenor at the time, stepped forward and said “our next song will be” and someone from the audience yelled “Great Balls of Fire!”

Ha. No.

“It will be…” and the song requests kept coming. Couldn’t finish the sentence. So, when someone yelled out “James Brown I Feel Good” we said “Fine!”, playing along with the joke.

And you know what? It was pretty good. So we took another request. And another. And the audience went WILD.

To read keep reading this article, visit this blog post on Casa.org!

The tone of the book is instructive and informative, yet conversational: it is intended to stand alongside any academic publication while remaining interesting and fun. A Cappella Arranging is a good textbook – and a “good read” – for every vocal arranger, whether amateur or professional; every vocal music classroom, and any professional recording studio.