The music business is a tough industry. There are more talented people than there are jobs, unstable professional circumstances, and no guarantees — but that doesn’t stop some of us from chasing the dream.

Larry Livingston is a Professor of Conducting and Music Director of Thornton Orchestras. In this video, he describes three things one needs to make it in today’s music business: chops/skill, a wide range of expertise, and unbelievable passion.

One of the great things about mobile devices like the iPhone is that not only does it save us from having to carry around endless gadgets, but it also allows us to be creative during times we didn’t think was possible. The items below, such as the tuner or on-the-go piano save you the hassle of finding and bringing along your tuner or jamming out that new idea while riding shotgun on a road trip. Whatever the occasion may be, the iPhone/iPod/iPad applications below will increase the productivity of any musician or songwriter looking to accompany the fast pace life of a 21st century musician.

CLEARTUNE

Far too many times musicians find themselves at a buddy’s house ready to jam, and they hand them a warped old guitar with strings that haven’t been tuned in ages. If you don’t have a tuner in your back pocket, an easy solution to this problem is to download a tuner application to your iPhone. It works like a charm and will have you jamming in no time.

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FOURTRACK

FourTrack is an app that puts multitrack recording on your iPhone. The app records at the CD quality of true 160bit, 44.1kHz quality and is easy to use.

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BAND

If you are looking to jam out some ideas on your iPhone or just fiddle around, Band offers multiple instruments, including a bass, drums, piano, guitar, and more. Each sound is great quality and is fun to play.

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BEATMAKER

Beatmaker allows for more complex construction of your song ideas. It has live pattern recording and arranging, but has a step sequencer as well, which allows for more intricate creations. To share your work, you can export your songs to an audio or midi file. Beatmaker also has a generous sound library, but if you are not satisfied, you are able to record your own sounds.

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The iPhone and now the iPadoffers a quick and affordable solution for figuring out your songs while on the go or just sitting around on the couch. Check out these apps and start creating.

Finding that perfect guitar tone can be a daunting task. There are endless amp/guitar combinations and direct input possibilities, but even after that you may still be left unsatisfied with your raw guitar tracks. But, there are several mixing tricks that can also boost your electric guitars up to that rocking sound you imagined. These three videos are here to help you create that wall of sound you had your sights set on.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Unfortunately, because these are advanced mixing techniques, you will need some sort of digital audio workstation (DAW) to accomplish the tutorials. Mainly, this is because some of the videos require mixing plugins and the manipulation of multiple tracks. Most of these videos below are shown using a Pro Tools rig, which is commonly regarded as the industry standard for studios. If you have Pro Tools you are in good shape. If you are running another system, such as Cubase, you should still be able to follow along.

Use a DeEsser Before You EQ

This technique describes a simple but effective way you get some more power out of your guitars through the use of a deEsser, followed by a high EQ boost.

Create Multiple Tones

If you are looking to get a little more complicated with your recording and mixes, then this video offers the direction you need. It involves creating multiple guitar tracks, each with a different tonal quality and EQ setting that creates a big wall of guitar.

Know Your EQs

If you just want to know what EQs make what changes to electric guitars, then this overview on guitar EQ is a great learning tool. Quickly learn how to bend your guitar mixes to your will through tweeking those frequencies.

Remember, no trick can ever make your mixes, but hopefully these techniques can help you reach the sound you are imagining. Keep tweeking away.

In the age of the internet, promoting your music is no longer just about playing the local bars to boost your following. Now, what seems to be even more important than struggling among the local nightspots is building a strong presence online. One of the most powerful tools of online music promotion is YouTube. Artists’ videos with less than a hundred views can grow to a million overnight. But, not everyone is that lucky. The most likely outcome is that you will struggle to get views. Sorry, it’s the real world. But, if you are as creative in your marketing as you are in your songwriting, then there is no reason you can’t use some creative tricks to boost your views. Here are some of the clever promotion ideas many successful YouTube artists have figured out.

1. Recording Covers

YouTube is packed with users scouring the search engine to find their favorite new song. If you take this route, then oftentimes users will stumble upon your video rather than the original. Or, you may just find someone looking for a new version or a new face. No matter what, when it comes to recording covers for YouTube, there are three simple rules to follow:

Record A New Song Before Anyone Else Does
If you are good predictor of trends or oftentimes find yourself saying something along the lines of “I listened to that song before anyone else,” then grab your instrument and press record on your video camera. If you are one of the first to have a cover of that new hit song up on YouTube then chances are you will be the one users click on when searching for that song. Keep your ear to the street because it may be your way to some views.

Find A Song With Little Competition
If you look hard enough you are bound to find great songs with very few people that have already taken it upon themselves to cover it. This is an untapped market where you may just be able to take the lead. Little competition means more views for you as you will be higher up in the search results. But it may also mean less of a reward since the demand is not that high — but hits are hits.

Quality
There is no substitute for the best. If you are blessed with an incredible voice, amazing instrumental abilities, or just a stylish new take on an old song then you are one of the lucky ones that can attack any song you want. The cream of the crop always rises to the top, and if you can record the best cover of something on YouTube — no matter how many covers there already are — it is highly likely you will spread like wildfire. Keep recording the song until you are 100% happy with it; once it’s on Youtube, unless you decide to pull it later, it’s there forever.

2. Collaborate

Much of the success of YouTubers has come from their knowledge that collaboration is a way to share viewer bases as well as combine talents for maximum creativity. Writing to your peers on YouTube can open up doors to new friendships, as well as possible collaborations. Create a video concept and pitch it to a fellow YouTuber. If they like the idea, the great thing about the internet is that ideas and content can be sent back and forth quickly until you have a product ready for the world to view — on both of your channels.

3. Write for Popular Search Terms

If you upload a music video to youtube, of course searchers in youtube may see your song in the search results. But did you know that youtube videos are now showing up in Google’s web search search as well?

Knowing this, you can name your song, or include specific words and phrases in your youtube description, that are popular search terms. Then, your video may show up one an unsuspecting Google searcher’s results page.

Just how do you know what people are searching for? Use your common sense and be aware of what is popular. When you feel you have an idea of what might be good, use Google’s Keyword Tool to see how many people search for a particular term.

4. Post About A YouTube Celebrity

Another great way to get views is by making videos about other famous YouTubers. Often times this will allow you to show up in related videos of the person you have made your video about or gain searches from others looking for the subject of your video. Once you have posted your video, it is smart to write your subject and let them know you have done this. If it is not an insulting video, many times they will favorite your video and promote it to their subscribers. A video that made use of this strategy was “YouTube Girls” (as shown below). Many of the famous YouTube girls mentioned in this video helped promote it by favoriting it and sending it on to their subscribers, as discussed.

If you are aggressive and take advantage of some of these YouTube strategies, then there is no reason you should not be increasing your views. But remember, you can strategize all you like, but nothing will ever take the place of making good quality music. People pass along great. It’s that simple.

Inspiration can come in a flash, and if you don’t have the right tools to capture it, a great song can pass you by. Whether you are driving in the car, walking down a busy street, or on a hot date, it’s important to know what tools you have at your disposal to capture your moment of brilliance.

Digital Recorder

Digital Recorder

Long gone are the days of tape recorders. Now, a digital recorder can do the same job, except this time, it gives you the ability to quickly scan through recordings and upload these files to your computer for safe keeping. The great thing about it is that it can fit into your pocket and won’t break your budget. The average digital voice recorder can be found for around $30-$100.

Cell Phone Applications

iPhone Voice Recording App

A large number of people are lucky enough to now have smart phones. Many of these phones, such as the iPhone, have apps available for voice recording (similar to a digital recorder). Since it’s rare to find a soul without a phone, all you have to do is reach into your pocket and press record. But, beware of distracting text messages that leave you forgetting what your idea was in the first place.

Voicemail

Ring, Ring

If your phone is not as fancy as some of your friends, don’t fret, you can MacGyver your way to success. All you need to do is grab a friend’s phone and call yourself. Once there, simply leave yourself a voicemail with your idea. Some services also allow you to call your voicemail with your own phone and leave a message. Works like a charm.

Garage Band

GarageBand

If you happen to be near a Mac computer when lightening strikes, then you have one of the most efficient tools for capturing an idea available to you: Garage Band. Simply open up a new track and play into your computers microphone. The great thing about Garage Band, is that your brilliance does not have to stop there. You can continue to create numerous tracks and build harmonies or any other part of your song you wish.


Next time you walk into band practice, you now have no excuse to say, “Sorry, I had this great song idea, but I forget it before I could get it down.”

Rule #52: No excuses, write like a champion.

Often times people get carried away thinking about the money they could make from a hit song or the fame they could have and they forget why they are making music in the first place: for the love of it.

People often forget that what they are creating not only affects them, but also those who listen to it. Your music has the possibility to change thoughts and create emotions in anyone who listens to it, so it is important, no it is imperative, that you create every bit of your songs with your love for music.

Julian Treasure is the author of Sound Business and head of a firm that consults businesses on sound, called the Sound Agency. Treasure has studied endless research and found that music can sometimes have damaging effects on society, but that music made from love can actually have a positive impact on society (he give examples of devotional music and Mozart).

In this video, Treasure also covers many other topics related to sound. And if you are anyone that loves music, I suggest you watch this quick seven minute video.