Improv Resource Packs, Wake Me Up, EDM, Songwriting: Inspired

Through improvisation, we have the power to create music in the moment. Let’s find out how Musical U helps new improvisers to spread their wings:

Improvisation Revealed

Some consider improvisation – the act of spontaneous creation – the highest form of musical art. Yet for so many aspiring musicians, the process remains a mystery.

We’ve heard recently about Musical U’s new Instrument Packs and Resident Pros to help guitarists, pianists, bass players, and singers to apply their inner musical skills to their instruments and voices.

This month the resident pros wrestled the topic of improv to the ground and brought out its simple secrets for our Musical U members. You can take a peek at how they did it in Beginning Improvisation: Resource Pack Preview.

Classical Goes Pop

Avicii’s rousing four-on-the-floor pop dance anthem “Wake Me Up” melds influences from EDM to Mumford and Sons. So what would happen if you broke down this high-production hit to a three-piece acoustic cover? And what if those three instruments were wielded by a classical string trio? With no words?

Meet Simply Three. This trio of violin, cello, and bass recreated “Wake Me Up”, and many other songs, without losing out on the drive and excitement of the original. Find out how in Before and After: Covering Avicii.

Creating entirely instrumental cover songs is an art form that takes great musical abilities. The artist Ben Hansen has this outstanding version of “Take A Walk” by Passion Pit that will leave you full of wonder.

To create the cover version of “Wake Me Up”, the melody had to be adapted into an instrumental version. To learn more about some of the differences between writing an instrumental melody versus one with lyrics, check out this lesson from Music Matters:

A critical step to recording and publishing cover songs is to make sure that you get the proper license to do so. HypeBot will help you make sure that your hard work doesn’t get deleted or blocked from social media sites like YouTube due to improper licensing.

An outstanding component of this cover song is that Simply Three keeps the listeners engaged throughout the song with their use of melody and rhythm. For music teachers, keeping students engaged in music is equally important. Contreras Music gives five easy suggestions for better engaging with your music students.

Electronic Garden

As music technology has advanced, individual producers wield the musical power once reserved for symphony orchestras of 100+ players. Couple that with the primal human urge to our bodies in rhythm and you have the modern wonder known as Electronic Dance Music, or EDM.

While EDM often plays on a futuristic image, its history is already decades in the making. Read about where EDM came from and how it has flowered into a dizzying array of sub-genres in Open Your Ears to Electronic Dance Music (EDM).

A big part of creating electronic dance music is the software that the composer needs for their Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Dance Music Production lists the best free plugins that will help to enhance your compositions!

Electronic music is not just restricted to the dance clubs and night venues, but has a prominent place in classical and contemporary music. The Lansing Symphony Orchestra just featured a composition called “Northern Nights“, by Paul Dooley performed by athletic electronic percussionist Lisa Pegher in a recent concert.

The final step of preparing Electronic Music for publication is the mastering process. However, the art of mastering is often misunderstood and can lead to a recording not sounding as good as it could sound. How To Make Electronic Music provides 13 quick tips to get the most out of the mastering process.

EDM, like all other forms of music, has a typical structure to the composition that most artists use and audiences expect. Subaqueous Music talks about structure in electronic music that will help you in creating your own compositions.

Inspire Your Songwriting

The fascinating genre of worship music brings pop music tools into a new setting and purpose. Spurred by their own personal healing journey, Alicia & Whitney bring the soulfulness of their Southern Gospel childhood into the mix with their deeply inspired songwriting. Learn more about the transformational power of creating music in Beauty for my Ashes: Inspired Songwriting, with Alicia & Whitney.

Many musicians and songwriters struggle with writing lyrics for their music. Even world-class musicians like Elton John rely on lyricists, so you are not alone if this is you! Emma McGann has 10 tips to get started on lyric writing:

Most songwriters write music for themselves, but it never hurts to get a little recognition and wider exposure! Learn from Songwriting Pro about what record executives are looking for.

Songwriters need to not only know how to produce their own music, but how to sell it. This is becoming increasingly easy, yet (simultaneously) more difficult as there are so many options in the online space. Enjoy this great resource from Musicaroo that goes through the various options available to musicians for digital music distribution.