Music Factory

When I was young, my mom and dad were constantly pestering me about “sitting up straight” at the dinner table. Eventually I developed better posture – more out of an effort to avoid their nitpicking than anything else. Little did I know at the time that my way of sitting perfectly upright would serve me well in my amateur music career. I took up the drums a few years later, and the rest is history.

Slouching stands among the biggest faux pas a drummer can commit. Not only will slouching leave you woefully out of position during a performance, but it can also do long-term structural damage to your lower back. Once you’ve established a comfort level with a particular seated posture, you can adjust the height of your drumsets to optimize the experience.

This is a common question for the individual or parent of a bassoonist.  By calling a local University or community band would be the best first step.  A beginning bassoon player can fall prey to the local music store scams with having to sometimes deal with a general music teacher who is not a specialist.  By far the best of all choices is finding the local bassoon teacher who has a large teaching schedule and is truly dedicated to the art. They are used to teaching all levels – beginner, intermediate, step-up and professional bassoon players.  A great choice in bassoons are the ones made by Wurzbach – great sound, pitch and construction.

One of the first tasks for rock bands upon arrival at a new venue involves adjusting to the sonic properties of the space. A room’s dimensions and surfaces play a dramatic part in determining the quality of sound, but this effect can be manipulated to a point by the musicians themselves. Bigger bands have roadies and technicians to handle such tedious chores, but the onus might fall to you if you’re playing in a small-time rock band.

After plugging an electric ax into a guitar amp, you’ll need to adjust the equalizer settings. Start by turning the bass, mid and treble levels to zero. Starting with bass, strum a power chord on the lowest two strings of the instrument. Crank up the bass knob until you hear a “wave” or “swell” sound – that’s how you know you’ve found the proper sound level for the given venue. The process should be repeated for the mid and treble levels, strumming power chords on the other four strings in a similar fashion.