Another example: Danny Elfman

Elfman's Serenada Schizophrana coming October 3 from Sony ... - SoundtrackNet

Whether you like his music or not, including his soundtracks for films, Danny Elfman is quite a accomplished musician and songwriter.

Cool Free Recording Software

If you haven't tried using Audacity, you should.

What is Audacity?

Audacity® is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.

You can use Audacity to:

• Record live audio.
• Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
• Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and WAV sound files.
• Cut, copy, splice, and mix sounds together.
• Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
• And more! See the complete list of features.

All you need is a microphone to record yourself playing your instrument. You can record and manipulate songs and send them to your friends or post them on a website.

Go to:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net

You'll be glad you did.

Self Taught Musician: Kerry Livgren

Many pop artists of the last several decades have been self-taught.

One of my favorites, Kerry Livgren, is a whiz at the guitar and keys. And an excellent songwriter too.

Of course, he achieved fame with his band Kansas. Though he left Kansas years ago, they are still making CDs and touring. You can find out more at www.kansasband.com.

Livgrens current group is named Protokaw: www.protokaw.com.

Check it out!

First post

This is the first post for my new blog. It exists to provide tips, tools and tricks for folks who are dedicated to learning their instrument with or without a teacher.

If you provide your name and email on the form to the right, you'll receive updates in your email inbox.