Category: Music

The professional title of producer is one of the most commonly misused titles in the music industry. This article will cover the three different types of music producers as well as the roles they play within the music industry and inside the recording studio.

What A Producer Isn’t

A producer isn’t a musician that makes his or her own music. The proper title for this position would be a musician, plain and simple. Producers also tend to work with a team of recording professionals, industry executives and reliable musicians to complete a recording project. Because the skills involved in managing a recording project take time to learn and are very demanding, someone who works on their own to create music isn’t typically considered a producer. The title of producer is often wrongfully associated with the roles of songwriters and general musicians.

Executive Producer

An executive producer is generally the person that funds the recording project. Executive producers also ultimately determine the direction of the recording project and carefully maintain the relationship between the artists or bands involved in the project and the record label that oversees the completion of the project. Executive producers essentially maintain the bridge between the record label and the recording artists as well as make sure that the project makes sense financially from a business perspective and a creative perspective.

Music Producer

A music producer typically spends a majority of their time creating or arranging music for the recording project. Music producers usually have a strong background in music theory and occasionally have degrees in music theory or music composition from established universities and colleges. Another job of the music producer is to make sure that the music within the recording project is of the highest possible quality and that the musicians involved in the project are making the best music they possibly can. Sometimes music producers are also given the task of maintaining communication between the artists and the record label executives, which is often a task that is more difficult than a lot of people within the music industry realize.

Engineering Producer

The engineering producer understands the technical aspects of the recording studio more than the other two types of producers. Engineering producers know how to work the recording console, setup the microphones for recording, use the recording software efficiently and effectively, and keep the recording project organized. A lot of engineering producers start out as either mixing engineers or assistant engineers to record label producers. They also tend to understand the technical aspects of recording and what it takes to make the music sound great from an engineer’s perspective.

Hip-hop music or rap music is an admired and famous style or genre of music in the USA. This well-known music genre is made up of two components, rapping and record scratching. Rapping is also known as MCing and DJing, which comprises of audio mixing. These two main components combined with graffiti and break dancing form the four core elements of hip-hop.

Hip-hop was initiated as a cultural movement by inner-city youth, mostly Latinos, Hispanics, and African Americans in New York City, in the early seventies. The word “rap” was derived in the sixties, from a slang word that meant conversation.

Hip-hop has two main historical eras, the old school hip-hop era from 1970-1985 and the golden age hip-hop era from 1985-1993. The golden age of hip-hop began only when it entered the mainstream of music and it consolidated the sounds of the West Coast and the East Coast.

The origin of hip-hop music is from African American and West African music. Contributions of griots like The Last Poets, Jalal Mansur Nurriddin, and Gil Scott-Heron were significant in a big way for the advent of hip-hop in the 1960s. Hip-hop had originally begun in the Bronx. Funk and soul music were played a lot in block parties. In the beginning, the DJs at these parties began separating the percussion breaks from hit songs. They started realizing that these breaks were more entertaining and groovy. This technique had become widespread in Jamaica and had spread considerably in the New York community via the Jamaican immigrants.

Kool DJ Herc and Grandmaster Flash were the pioneers in the hip-hop industry and other DJs had extended the short percussion interludes of funk records and created a more danceable sound. As a result, remixes had become popular with the advent of mixing and scratching techniques. Many styles of hip-hop had developed in the golden age of hip-hop.

At present, hip-hop is enjoyed all around the world. In spite, of all the controversies created by hip-hop artists they are still growing in number. Hip-hop music is sold all over the world in stores and even online.

Due to the influence of western pop music, traditional songs and music are losing their place in society. The terms traditional, folk, or cultural music are now replaced by what is known as world music; which is a broad term used to describe music relating to cultures, history, ethnic groups, and indigenous people.

World music is all encompassing, ranges from indigenous forms of music in various parts of the world to culture fusion music such as new age music. Western pop and western classical music are not considered world music.

Some characteristics of world music include:

o The music is representative of a culture or lifestyle, or is for festive celebrations.

o It is communal and is accompanied by dances, rituals, or games.

o The repetition of rhythms, chords, and melodies is common.

o Specific musical instruments are used to play the music.

o The performances place more emphasis on group performances than individual singing.

With globalization and the world getting smaller, people move from place to place and bring their music along with them. As world music gains popularity, world music concerts or festivals become a trend in different parts of the world. People from different cultural backgrounds come to know about it and participate in related festivals; most don’t really concern themselves with the origin of the music and just love the music for what it is.

World music is never on the top of pop songs charts and was never meant to be. However, it will always provide one of the best means for people to express their feelings, thoughts, cultures, dreams, and so on, through music.

The Mannheim Steamroller “other” albums are considered to be everything but their Christmas and Fresh Aire CDs. Mannheim Steamroller is a pioneer of the new age music genre, and has continuously been producing original and arranged music for the last several decades. I am a huge fan, and have picked out, in my opinion, the 8 best Mannheim Steamroller songs from their other albums besides the Christmas and Fresh Aire series.

Here are my top 8 picks, in chronological order…

1. Tigers & Lions- Saving the Wildlife, 1986
I’ve been listening to this song for almost my entire life, and it’s always been a favorite of mine. The ethnic sound makes you feel that you’re in India surrounded by Tigers. This song plus several others were written for the soundtrack of a PBS special about saving the wildlife. Wolves is another excellent song from the album, and if you’ve never seen the music video for Wolfgang Amadeus Penguin it’s hilarious.

2. Fugue- Impressions, 1993
When Chip Davis first met his very good friend Arnie Roth (Mannheim’s violinist) he thought he was a really classical guy. But later found out that when he was in college he played in a heavy metal bad. So, Chip wrote this song for Arnie, which is why it’s on the album Impressions (an album made up entirely of gifts that Chip Davis wrote for various friends and family members). He describes this song as a “Gothic Concerto Sounding Dooda Something or Other”, and it’s quite en excellent piece.

3. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious- Mannheim Meets the Mouse, 1999
I hope I spelled that right! I love most of the songs on this album, and was especially pleased with this arrangement of my favorite Mary Poppin’s tune, which recently had a successful run on Broadway. This album is an excellent collection of arranged Disney tunes and should be in your collection along with their Christmas albums.

4. You’ve Got a Friend In Me- Mannheim Meets the Mouse, 1999
I love the synthetic bass line of this song! Not only is this a classic Disney movie and a great Randy Newman song, but it’s a brilliant Mannheim Steamroller arrangement. When this album was released I drove down to the music store during my lunch break in order to get it. I first heard about it when they performed Under the Sea at their live show during the Christmas in the Aire tour.

5. Slo Dancin’ in the Living Room- Romantic Melodies, 2001
This song is quite different from all the others I have picked. For me, it just paints a very quaint little story about a loving married couple spending a few minutes of their busy day to be romantic and slow dance together in the living room. With, most likely, screaming children and burning food on the stove in the other room.

6. Mt. McKinley- Spirit, 2003
The feel of this piece is very American, which is why it blends so well into Mannheim’s patriotic album- Spirit. It’s an original composition by Chip Davis and channels Aaron Copland and other great American composers. It’s short, but sweet. The Star-Spangled Banner is another wonderful arrangement on this album which also appears on the albums Impressions and To Russia With Love.

7. All Hallow’s Eve- Halloween, 2003
This Halloween piece, an original composition by Chip Davis, fits perfectly into the season. It’s always well received at Halloween parties. I wish they had thought to do Halloween albums back when they first started. I wouldn’t mind if they released a few more. I’ve always thought it was funny that they put “Deranged by Chip Davis” on the album credits.

8. Creatures of the Night- Halloween 2, 2006
This creation was designed for dance clubs, and was the first time that Mannheim Steamroller did something for the Dance/Techno genre. In the music video you get to see Chip Davis play the Theremin creating all sorts of eerie sounds. They even went so far as to create a line dance specifically for this song for people to dance to in clubs.

Whether you agree with my picks or not, there is no disputing that Chip Davis of Mannheim Steamroller is the best contemporary composer/arranger of our time.

The Gibson SG guitar is one of the most coveted guitars in history. Many musicians over the years have fallen in love with the SG and have remained loyal to Gibson. Here is a bit of the history of the SG for you to enjoy.

Around the year 1960, the Gibson guitar makers were suffering through a sales slump. Not that the Les Paul was not selling, as it was and very nicely. The trouble was that music was evolving and musicians were looking for a sound, or tone, different from what the Les Paul offered.

So in 1961, Gibson radically altered the body shape so it was now thinner, more lightweight and now featured a double cutaway neck area that permitted deeper access to the higher frets. The neck took on a heavier construction and the neck joint was raised approximately three frets higher. This was done in hopes of competing with Fender’s Stratocaster model, which was gaining popularity then.

The new design was marketed with the “fastest neck in the world” and this was largely a fact. The neck had a thinner profile (from the side) and with the higher neck joint, the heel was no longer an obstruction, as was the case with the Les Pauls.

Another name was sought because the guitar looked nothing like a Les Paul. Since the guitar was it’s inventor’s namesake, Les Paul (the inventor of the electric guitar and the Les Paul design) asked that his name removed from the new design completely.

So, the good people at Gibson brainstormed and called the new model an “SG”. Ironically enough, this was simply short for “solid guitar”.

The Gibson factory had an abundance of plastic “Les Paul” nameplates in stock. So even though Les Paul’s name was removed in 1961, Gibson continued to manufacture SG’s with the nameplate between the topmost pickup and the fret board until the end of 1963. Finding one of these early SG’s with a Les Paul nameplate would truly be a valuable collector’s item.

Since the SG was introduced in early 1961, numerous variations have been made carrying the SG name. There was a standard model (SG Standard) as well as a junior model (SG Junior). Then the top of the line Gibson SG Custom made the scene. Curiously, the SG Customs manufactured from 1961-63 did not say ‘SG’ on them, yet they did have a Les Paul signature plate under the fret board, as did all Les Paul’s.

From 1961 to early ’63, the truss rod cover on the SG Standard was engraved with “Les Paul”. The SG featured a small pick guard on models made between 1961 and 1965. Then, in 1966, another slight redesigning took place. Now the SG had a different type of neck joint and a batwing-shaped pick guard appeared on models from 1967 upwards.

The design was firm until around 1970 or so. The year 1971 saw the release of a new version of the SG with a floating pick guard reminiscent of the Les Paul. Also the control plate was mounted from the front to decrease construction cost.

A variety of quality tailpieces were offered as options as well. Notable ones were the “Maestro”, the “Lyre Vibrola” and the Bigsby vibrato tremolo arm. A few new designs were brought into play with the new tailpiece design. A few of these were the SG 100 (a low end version that was more affordable) and the SG 200 (with two single coil pickups). On the higher end of the SG spectrum were the SG Pro and the SG Deluxe models.

Gibson returned to the original design of the SG in 1973. The pick guard went retro to the small original pick guard and the controls were moved to the rear again and the neck was set deeper into the body with a joining point around the twentieth fret. But by the end of that decade, all the SG models reverted mostly to the old design. Current models are now made with 1967-1969 constructions, the larger LP style pick guard that encases the pickups on the SG body. Variations are still available with the small pick guard. Re-issues of the SG are common and popular.

These guitars resemble their 1960’s brothers except that a stop tailpiece is now standard. Models of the SG with a vibrato tailpiece are now a custom item or a special edition model.

The first SG that had active factory pickups was introduced in 1980. Gibson tested an SG model with the same active Moog electronics that were being used (or had been used) in a previous model called the RD Artist. This experimental SG sported a thicker body due to the extraneous added circuitry. This model was lovingly nicknamed the “Gibson SG-R1”.

The SG-R1 was made of solid mahogany with a black glossy finish. It had no pick guard, the fret inlays were “dots” opposed to original trapezoid shapes and it featured transparent barrel knobs for the treble and bass controls ranging from “0” to “+5” or “-5” instead of “1” to “10”. There was also an extra switch to activate a “boost” on the bridge pickup.

The SG-R1 had a fixed bridge with a tremolo/whammy bar standard. Gibson renamed the SG-R1 the “SG Artist” circa 1981 and subsequently discontinued it. Of these SG’s, there were only about 200 ever made.

Today the Gibson SG guitar is still as popular as ever and is used by some of the top guitarists to ever strap on an axe. Some of Gibson’s loyal users are Angus Young (AC/DC), Hank Williams Jr, Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Marilyn Manson, Nic Cester (Jet), Pete Townshend (The Who), Shakira and Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath).

After careful consideration I have decided to publish this study on contemporary christian music (CCM) with the hopes of bringing to light the truth behind the music. It is not my intention to criticize or offend anyone or to appear self-righteous in any way. I believe we are presently living in the end age and the much anticipated return of Christ is imminent. With that being said, I also believe, because we are living in the end age, Satan is working harder now than ever before to deceive “the very elect”. We must remain vigilant in protecting ourselves from the “wiles of the enemy”. The apostle Paul wrote “Having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts.” (2 Tim 3:5-6)

When and why was music created?

Surprisingly, music was created when God created Lucifer. Ezekiel said of Satan, “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.” (Ez. 28:13) The Hebrew word for tabrets is toph which translated means tambourine. Lucifer (Satan) has music built in him. Lucifer was given the ability to play beautiful music through his “workmanship” and to understand its purpose as well. Music is a part of who he is. Are we so naive to think that he wouldn’t use what he knows best to deceive God’s children? Why did God create music? God created music for His enjoyment! So we could sing praises to Him, worship Him, and give thanks to Him. (Psalm 95:1, 104:33, 150:2 Eph. 5:19) Music in the bible was always positive. It was never used in a negative way.

What’s wrong with CCM?

Contemporary is a well suited word to describe this music as it includes all the various styles such as rock, jazz, blues, dance, metal, rap, alternative, new age, grunge, punk, thrash, death, gothic and industrial. Regardless of the form, the essences of all Contemporary Christian Music are the same, to share God’s love to the current generation in a way that can be both understood and enjoyed. Some CCM artists are sincere but most are seeking fame and fortune. Being sincere, however, does not make it right. So how can we distinguish the contemporary music from the more traditional christian music? Simple, the beat. CCM usually has a backbeat rhythm, whether loud or soft. Emphasis on the 2nd and 4th beats or on other unnatural beats. Listen carefully for the beat. Test it by letting your body respond to the rhythm. Does it make you feel like dancing or jigging? If it does, it’s the backbeat rhythm. That dance feeling is what makes backbeat music fleshly. It is the beat that activates our fleshly lusts regardless of the lyrics. Remember what Jesus said in John 4:24; “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” No mention of us worshipping Him in the flesh. Following is a quote from a former Satanist concerning beats, “I am very sensitive to the beat in music, because when I was a boy I played the drums during our village worship rituals. The beats I played on the drums was to get demonic spirits to enter people. When I became a christian, I rejected this kind of beat because I knew the damage that was being done. When I turned on a christian radio station in the United States I was shocked. The beat I used to play to summon evil spirits was in the music I heard on the christian radio station.” There are many testimonies about summoning evil spirits through beats and drums and it’s no wonder that many artists are drug addicted and practice homosexual lifestyles including CCM artists. There are many CCM artists that are proud self-proclaimed homosexuals such as Tonex, Ray Boltz, Marsha Stevens, Jennifer Knapp, and others. As we know, this kind of behavior is detestable to God but yet, churches all over the country, all types of denominations, continue to play their music as an offering to our Holy God. One of the major problems I believe in churches is the lack of discernment and judgment. The attitude is “if it sounds good let’s play it!” This attitude is the same attitude expressed in the satanic bible, as their motto is “do what thou wilt”.

Supporters of CCM have two main arguments when defending their music. First is the need for change. They claim that teenagers and young adults no longer respond to the traditional “gospel” music and the church needs to stoop to their level to reach them. And that sounds good but what are you reaching them with? The church has taken what was described earlier as fleshly or worldly music and slapped some weak lyrics to it and call it Godly music. I’ll talk more about the lyrics later. CCM is nothing more than well-disguised rock or pop music. That’s why young people are so attracted to it. Not because of the lyrics but because of the rhythm or beat. We know this is true because when asked, young people admit they like rock or pop music because of the beat and many times they don’t even know or can’t understand the lyrics. If we really need to stoop to the sinner’s level to reach them, where will it stop? Should the church build a liquor store so to reach the alcoholics? Maybe the church should open a strip club as to reach the people involved in smut. Putting worldly music in church does not make it anymore christian music than christian porn.

Secondly, CCM supporters ask how can songs with Godly lyrics be evil or demonic? Let us look at some CCM songs that are on top of the christian music charts. Mandisa put out a song titled “Overcomer” that hit number one on charts.

Staring at a stop sign

Watching people drive by

T Mac on the radio

Got so much on your mind

Nothings really going right

Looking for a ray of hope

Whatever it is you may be going through

He’s not gonna let it get the best of you

You’re an overcomer

Stay in the fight ’til the final round

You’re not going under

‘Cause God is holding you right now

You might be down for a moment

Feeling like it’s hopeless

That’s when He reminds you

That you’re an overcomer

Everybody’s been down

Hit the bottom, hit the ground

Oh, you’re not alone

Just take a breath, don’t forget

Hang on to His promises

He wants you to know

The same man, The Great I Am

The one who overcame death

Is living inside of you

At first glance, these lyrics appear to be good. And these lyrics are typical of most CCM artists. Very positive and uplifting. It certainly makes you feel warm and fuzzy doesn’t it? I have a couple of questions… where’s Jesus? Where’s the Blood? Where’s the message of salvation? How does this song bring glory and honor to our Lord? We can give these lyrics to a Muslim or a Buddhist and they would have no problem with it because they both believe in God. The one thing that makes us, as Christians, different is our belief in the redemptive, sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ. And a great majority of CCM songs steer clear of that subject. Why you ask? Because this is a business. This is how these artists make their living. They sing what’s popular and acceptable to the majority. The super popular band Third Day’s lead singer, Mac Powell, said in an interview, “Also another thing that God’s been teaching me is the unity of the body of Christ. He really wants us to join together. He says, “Just as I have loved you, you must love one another.” So it’s time that we tear down denominational walls and time that we tear down racial barriers and social barriers and things that separate us and come together hand in hand and start loving one another. That’s when the world is going to know who we are. They’re going to know who we are by our love for one another. That’s what the Lord’s been teaching us and wanting us to share with people.”

That certainly sounds good and many Christians have jumped on their bandwagon but what does the bible say about this? Jesus said He came to separate people, “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law” (Matthew 10:35) What did Jesus mean by this? He simply meant that the truth of His message would divide people. He would rather we separate because of truth than to unite in error. If you are like me, I have often wondered how the antichrist would be able to unite all the religions of the world and form one religion. I now know how that is possible; by teaching tolerance. By tearing down denominational walls and living in unity with each other. Jesus said “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34) We, as true Christians need to stop looking for “peace on earth” and start speaking and teaching the truth. Our peace will come when our Savior returns! Have you ever noticed that the disciples and apostles never had peace with the world? They also suffered tremendously but the majority of today’s Christians have total peace with the world and believe that they shouldn’t suffer at all? Getting back to the lyrics. Most CCM lyrics purposely leave out the message of Jesus because it’s offensive to some people. How can they sell their music to people they offend? This is why most CCM lyrics have a spirit of tolerance in them. Jesus clearly said that His message was going to separate people and cause division. To try and mend the division is nothing more that ecumenism. By definition ecumenism is “A movement promoting worldwide unity among religions or denominations.” This is truly the work of Satan. CCM artists that promote peace among religions and strive to tear down denominational walls, which is most of them, are working to achieve Satan’s goal, which is to unite the world’s religions into one. This dear brothers and sisters is the spirit of antichrist. Let’s look at another song that made it to number three on the billboard charts. “Help Me Find It” by Sidewalk Prophets.

I don’t know where to go from here

It all used to seem so clear

I’m finding I can’t do this on my own

I don’t know where to go from here

As long as I know that You are near

I’m done fighting I’m finally letting go

I will trust in You, You have never failed

[chorus]

If there’s a road I should walk

Help me find it

If I need to be still

Give me peace for the moment

Whatever your will

Can you help me find it

I’m giving you fear and You give faith

I’m giving You doubt

You give me grace

For every step I’ve never been alone

Even when it hurts, You’ll have Your way

Even in the valley I will say

With every breath You’ve never let me go.

Once again the lyrics are not blatantly false or evil, however, there’s no message here. Never does the song say who “He” is. We could infer that He is Jesus or God or we could replace he with Allah’s name or any other name and it would make perfect sense. My point is, CCM artists do this on purpose so that any denomination or any religion for that matter can identify with it. Songs like these cannot possibly please God because there’s no praise, worship, reverence or even acknowledgement of God. They are simply worldly songs with a hint of religion poked in them. This is a spirit of tolerance that is attempting to “set aside” our differences and only focus on similarities. How much tolerance did Jesus have for the Pharisees or Sadducees? Absolutely none! He continued to speak the truth of the Gospel regardless of who it offended. He never tried to co-exist in peace with beliefs or doctrines that were in error. All forms of offerings, including music that we give to the Lord should be worthy offerings. Any offering that is fleshly or worldly will be rejected by our Holy God. Worldly music with religious lyrics is still worldly music and should be left in the world and not offered to our God.

Furthermore, when visiting the websites of these ultra-famous CCM artists, I noticed there was something missing. There’s absolutely no mention of salvation. No prayer to guide you through salvation; no explanation of the salvation plan and no offers of help. You won’t find anything but an order form to buy music and t-shirts and a schedule of their concerts so you can buy overpriced tickets. Actually, it’s exactly the same as any worldly rock band’s website! I challenge you to visit video websites such as YouTube and watch clips of these concerts. You’ll find screaming teenage girls on the front row shouting their devotions and admirations for these guys. EXACTLY like a rock concert! Some of these CCM bands are worshipped like Elvis or the Beatles were. How can this be Godly? These artists, and I use that word cautiously, must be of the world to be that popular. Because Jesus said, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you; for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26). Jesus also said, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (John 15:19) I can only come to the logical conclusion that these bands are of the world. John wrote in 1John 2:15, “Love not the world, neither the things of the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

The apostle Paul wrote, “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?” (2Cor 6:14) When we yoke ourselves together with the world we are actually coming into agreement with what they believe. The ultra-famous Christian metal band Jars of Clay, perform with self-proclaimed Satanist Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy, as many know, was the guy who used to chew the heads off live bats during his concerts. So, we have a so-called Christian group doing concerts with Satanists. Can any music they produce bring glory or honor to God? As I said before, many of these CCM artists are searching for fame and fortune with no regard for God’s Holy Word. Jars of Clay named Jimmy Hendrix and the Beatles as their inspiration. Amy Grant said, “I love to hear Billy Joel, Kenny Loggings and the Doobie Brothers”. The band Delirious said, “Our musical heroes are U2, Radiohead and Blur”. The group Deliverance performs songs by secular rock groups. Their “What a Joke” album has the song “After Forever” by the vile, blasphemous, pagan rock group Black Sabbath. These CCM artists are nothing more than wolves in sheep clothing. And they have no place in our churches. Many CCM songs chart on rock and pop charts. This should tell us that the world accepts and approves of their music. According to John 15:19, anything the world approves of should not be in our churches.

As I have already stated, I do not have the desire to offend or disrespect anyone. However, if the truth of this message offends or angers people, then it couldn’t be avoided. Our goal as Christians should be to please and worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in truth and spirit. We are called to separate ourselves from the world; not incorporate the world in our churches.

While there is no lone characteristic that distinguishes a conductor’s stand from a musician’s stand, the one commonality that conductors’ stands seem to share is that they are much stronger (and very often larger) than regular music stands. Extra strength and size can be built into a stand in several different ways.

A Larger and Stronger Tray

Because conductors typically have to manage many more pages of music at once than performing musicians, it makes sense that conductors’ music stands usually have larger trays (the part of the stand that holds the music). Since musical scores come in all sizes, these larger trays can be either wider, or taller, or both. One typical size is a double-wide tray to allow for the easy folding out of score books.

These trays can also be made larger by the addition of a double shelf (the shelf is the part of the tray that keeps the sheet music from falling down to the floor). A stand with a double shelf, one being a couple of inches below the other, creates a kind of mini-compartment that is especially useful to a conductor because he can use it to store such things as batons, pencils, and other accessories without interfering with the sheet music sitting on the top shelf.

In addition, it is also common for conductors’ trays to be made from stronger or thicker materials because they will need to support more weight. A good example of this is the opera conductor’s sheet music stand. With this design, the tray is three-dimensional all the way around with raised edges. Consequently, music scores cannot slide off any edge and are much more secure. The tray of an opera stand also typically has lighting built in to the tray itself so there are no worries of an attached light accessory falling off.

Stronger and Multiple Shafts

The main support mechanism of a music stand is the shaft, which connects the tray with the base (the part touching the floor). In order to bear the greater weight of music needed by a conductor, the shaft is usually also stronger. For example, this can be accomplished by making the shaft thicker and/or made of stronger materials. Other conductor’s music stand designs include stands with double shafts, sometimes including a connecting crossbar for extra strength, and stands that don’t use the standard pole-shaped shaft, but rather have rectangular-shaped shafts offering four corners of support all the way up and down.

A separate feature of the shafts on these stands is that they have much greater height adjustment, since a conductor will often be standing on a raised platform while directing. This benefit does not come with all conductors’ stands, however, and a potential buyer should be sure to check.

Bases with Greater Stability

In keeping with the same theme, the base of a conductor’s music stand is very often much stronger and more stable than that of a regular stand. One style involves the combination of a double shaft together with a connecting bar between the two bases. Another style abandons the typical three-legged base in favor of a platform design. This makes tipping the stand over almost impossible. Still other styles include using a four-legged base, or a modified three-legged base with a much lower and wider leg span. These also make tipping much less likely.

Conductor’s sheet music stand cost

Finally, as you might imagine, along with all of the extra strength and stability two consequences should be noted.

One is that a conductor’s music stand will typically weigh more than a standard musician’s stand and be potentially less easy to transport. The other consideration is that, naturally, things that are bigger and stronger are also more expensive. Without getting into the use of special materials, a general ballpark cost of a conductor’s music stand will be anywhere from about fifty percent more to double the cost of a counter-part regular sheet music stand made by the same manufacturer. (Some models do cost even more.) That might sound like quite a premium, but most conductors find the added quality and benefits well worth the cost. In fact, many performance musicians use smaller conductors’ music stands because of the greater strength and stability, as well as the added convenient features, such as a double shelf or extra wide tray.

Anthropologists and historians repeatedly speculate that percussion instruments were the first musical apparatus ever came into being. But with the utmost certainty, the human voice was the first musical instrument, and surely, percussion tools such as feet, hands, rocks, sticks and logs came in second to the on-going evolution of music. When humans developed tools for hunting and agriculture, their knowledge along side with skill, enabled them to produce more complex tools. They use slit drum, made from a hollowed-out tree trunk. For instance, a simple log may have been shaped to generate louder tones (log drum) and may have been pooled to create numerous tones (set of log drums).

As time moved on, so is the evolution of percussion instruments. In the early 10th century, it was known that most tribes in Africa use sorts of percussions such as djembe, macaras used in Latin America, karimbas in Asia and seed rattles in Australia for their recreational and worship rituals and sometimes used in sending signals.

Percussion instruments that are displayed in orchestra first came from Asia Minor. In the 15th century, people began migrating east and brought with them numerous instruments. Our percussion instruments got their initial stages there, when the Crusades took back the drums that they found in the Middle East. From then on, evolution of percussion and drums kicked up a notch and assortments of percussion instruments came into being.

Percussion is categorized by a variety of criteria at times depending on their cultural origin, construction and function within musical orchestration. It is generally referred as ?the hearbeat? of a musical ensemble, often functioning close collaboration with bass instruments if present.

Drums and percussions as well as bass are known as the rhythm section of the most popular music genres. Most classical pieces written for an orchestra since the time of Mozart and Haydn are schemed to put emphasis on strings, brass and woodwinds. However, time and again they include a pair of timpani (kettle drums) although not played continuously. But moderately, they serve to offer additional accents when needed.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, more percussion instruments (like the cymbals or triangles) came to being and frequently, again moderately and cautiously played in general. The massive uses of percussion instruments become more recurrent in the 20th century, on classical music.

In almost all types of music, percussion plays a fundamental role. In a military parade, it is the strike of the bass drum that holds the soldiers in step and at a normal speed, and it is the snare that endows that crisp, vital air to the tune of a troop. In traditional jazz, one almost instantly thinks of the distinguishing rhythm of the hi-hats or the ride cymbal when the word “swing” is uttered. In more current popular music genres, it is almost impossible to name at least three or four rock, hip-hop, rap, funk, punk, techno, grunge, alternative and blues songs that don?t have some kind of percussive beat maintaining the tune in time.

Because of the mixture and wide assortments of percussive instruments, it is not unusual to find large musical gathering composed wholly of percussion. Rhythm, harmony and melody are all evident and alive in these musical factions, and in live performances they are quite a spectacle to see.

The first-ever recipients of a Grammy Award in the Reggae Music category which was introduced in 1985, Black Uhuru has always been one of the most progressive reggae or “reggae-rock” bands, managing to stay true to its fierce Rastafarian politics and haunting vocal harmonies in spite of many challenges over its 35-year history. And, WOW, what a history!

Black Uhuru, whose name comes from the East African Swahili language meaning “freedom” (hence Black Freedom), was originally formed as a trio in 1974 in the Waterhouse district of Kingston, Jamaica by Derrick “Duckie” (now “Gong”) Simpson, Euvin “Don Carlos” Spencer and Rudolph “Garth” Dennis. They played clubs around Jamaica but did not attract much local attention despite their Top Cat-produced singles “Folk Songs”, “Slow Coach” and “Time is on Our Side”. In the ’70s, as today, young black men in Kingston had few opportunities to break away from the poverty of the city’s slums. Reggae was certainly one escape route, but it was packed with talented hopefuls, so the chances of succeeding were very slim.

After a few years, Don Carlos left the band to pursue a solo career, Garth Dennis left for what would be an 8-year stint with the Wailing Souls, and Simpson quickly reorganized the band with Errol “Jay” Nelson and Michael Rose. This time, the group’s singles, “Natural Mystic” and “I Love King Selassie”, attracted the attention of a London distributor named Count Shelley, and Black Uhuru’s first full-length recording, “Love Crisis”, produced by Prince Jammy, was released in England in 1977. (“Love Crisis” was later re-mixed and re-released as “Black Sounds of Freedom”).

Nelson departed soon after the release, leaving Simpson and Rose to work as a duo for a while. But it wasn’t until the hottest rhythm section in reggae, Sly Dunbar on drums and Robbie Shakespeare on bass (who were friends of Michael Rose), graced the stage alongside them that they created their most unique sound and became the Black Uhuru with which we are most familiar. At this time, Sly and Robbie were just putting together their Taxi label, and Black Uhuru’s “Observe Life” became Taxi’s first release.

In 1978, lightning finally struck when Nelson’s spot was taken over by African-American Columbia-graduate harmony singer Sandra “Puma” Jones. Led by the distinctive prowl-n-scowl tenor of Rose, and recording for Sly and Robbie’s Taxi label, this third lineup launched the group into its most commercially successful period with the haunting hits “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, “Abortion” (banned in Jamaica), “Leaving to Zion”, “Plastic Smile”, “Shine Eye Gal” and “General Penitentiary”. All of these singles were assembled on 1979’s “Showcase” album, later reissued on CD as “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”.

The release of “Showcase” brought an invitation from a New York City radio station, WLIB, which was holding a concert at Hunter College. It was Black Uhuru’s first performance outside of Jamaica, an opportunity most reggae bands never had. “Showcase” also captured the attention of Chris Blackwell, president of Island Records, and Black Uhuru’s first major-label contract soon followed with Island’s subsidiary, Mango.

The band made their American album debut in 1980 with “Sensimilla”, which established the group’s heavy-hitting sound blending traditional roots with modern digital effects on its sizzling tracks, all written by Michael Rose, like “Happiness”, “Push Push”, “World is Africa” and, of course, the title cut. As front man for Black Uhuru, singer-songwriter Rose was approaching the international reggae stardom of the likes of Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. His vocals and his deeply conscious Rastafarian lyrics helped to bring forth an exciting era in reggae music.

The release of “Red” launched the band into the top 30 on UK charts and many considered it the group’s masterpiece, illustrating their commitment to social change. “Youth of Eglington”, written by Rose, became Uhuru’s manifesto and a reggae classic, linking Jamaican youth with African youth worldwide from Eglington (the West Indian enclave in Toronto), to Brixton (where riots paralyzed London), to Utica Avenue and Brooklyn. The album tour encountered some violence; a show in Miami was reportedly stopped because the audience brought weapons. “Red” would end up being 24th in Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Albums of the 1980s with its rootsy classics like “Rockstone”, “Sponji Reggae” and the joyous “Utterance”. Black Uhuru now found itself among the most influential reggae groups on the planet in the aftermath of Bob Marley’s 1981 death.

With the 1982 release “Chill Out”, Sly and Robbie moved Black Uhuru from the simple sound of traditional reggae to a more electronic sound called “dub”, the new sound that was becoming so popular in reggae in the mid-1980s. Some critics felt this was Uhuru’s weakest album while others marked it as their finest album of all. Some classics from this album include the title track, “Wicked Act”, and “Mondays”, which spoke to all of us working folk who see Monday as “the day slavery begins”.

The group reached its peak in 1983 with the release of “Anthem”. Island Records tried to build on “Chill Out’s” success by remixing “Anthem” in 1984 for US and European audiences (but original versions can be found on “Liberation: The Island Anthology”, a superb two-disc anthology). And, in 1985, Black Uhuru garnered the first-ever Grammy Award for Reggae Music, beating out Bob Marley and the Wailers, Steel Pulse, and Yellowman. “What is Life” was a huge hit and the album was full of classic anthems like “Solidarity”, “Elements” (a masterpiece I say), “Botanical Roots”, “Black Uhuru Anthem” and “Bull in the Pen”. While Rose had written most of their earlier stuff, these lyrics were largely written by Duckie Simpson. With this release, Black Uhuru blended a touch of pop/R&B with reggae without sacrificing quality and was able to gain more mainstream attention.

As so often happens though, success can destroy a group. In 1985, after the band’s rise to success began to slow, Michael Rose decided to try his hand at a solo career and at establishing a coffee farm in the Jamaican hills. Delroy “Junior” Reid came in to replace him, appearing first on “Brutal” on the RAS label in 1986. Reid, a devout Bobo Shanti Rastafarian, was a talented singer as evidenced by “Let Us Pray” and “Fit You Haffe Fit”, but the U.S. government denied Reid a visa to perform on tour in America, causing him to return to his solo career and Uhuru to tour without him. And, then, Puma Jones was compelled to leave for health reasons just before completing the recording of “Positive” in 1987: the singer was battling breast cancer and would pass away in 1990 at age 36. (She was briefly replaced by Janet Reid.)

In 1987, the “Reggae Times” Awards honored Don Carlos as Best Vocalist and Black Uhuru as Best Group and arranged for Simpson, Carlos, and Dennis to play together. A European tour followed, and by 1990, the original trio was recording once again as Black Uhuru. “Now” (1990) got critical praise and rose to number two on “Billboard’s” world music chart. It also garnered another Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album. From “Iron Storm’s” (1992) single, “Tip of the Iceberg”, an award-winning video was made featuring controversial rap star Ice-T and was filmed on the burned-out streets of South Central Los Angeles in the wake of the Rodney King police brutality trial verdict. “Mystical Truth” (1993) and “Strongg” (1994) continued Black Uhuru’s commitment to the eradication of oppression, offering hope in spite of injustice, and received critical acclaim.

By 1995, old animosities (mostly over money) resurfaced and Uhuru split up again. But Dennis and Carlos continued to tour using the Black Uhuru name and in 1997 were taken to court in Los Angeles by Simpson, who claimed the exclusive right to the Black Uhuru name. Simpson won; Carlos and Dennis were out and lead vocalist Andrew “Bees” Beckford and harmony vocalist Jennifer “Jenifah Nyah” Connally were in, producing “Unification” (1998). Some high points were “System”, “Real Thing”, “Hail Tafari” and “Lullaby Love”. Andrew Bees and Pam Hall, rejoined by Sly and Robbie, were featured on “Dynasty” (2001) on the RAS label and toured in support of the album. (“Bees” soon left to pursue a solo career.) The wonderful greatest hits collection “20th Century Masters–The Millennium Collection: The Best of Black Uhuru” was released in 2002.

In February 2004, Simpson and Michael Rose reunited under the name “Black Uhuru featuring Michael Rose”. Together with a female backing singer named Kay Starr, they released a single, “Dollars”, and performed at several concerts.

Over the years Black Uhuru has headlined many music festivals worldwide as well as touring with groups like the Rolling Stones, the Clash, Talking Heads, and The Police. Duckie Simpson has continued to tour, with and without Michael Rose, and there is even talk of a new album!

Black Uhuru remains one of the best reggae groups ever and is firmly rooted in the heart of reggae fans everywhere. And they were voted the #1 reggae band in the “Rolling Stone’s” critics’ poll. Listen and delight in this still-evolving legend of reggae music!

Thanks to the Internet, it’s easier than ever for new bands and artists to be discovered and to sell their music directly to fans. How do you get started and what’s the best way to promote your band? Here are some tips:

One of the first places you’ll want to visit is MySpace. By now, everyone has heard of it and millions and millions of people have their own accounts. But I bet you didn’t know that MySpace offers a special type of account just for promoting a band or artist? It’s called MySpace Music and it’s completely free to sign up. With this type of account, you can add up to 4 full songs to your account for people to listen to while they are reading your MySpace page. This alone makes a MySpace Music page worthwhile to set up, since getting people to listen to and discover your music is the main goal of most new artists. Include a link to buy your CD from your own website, iTunes or other music store and you’ve got a great way to increase sales.

If someone likes the music on your profile, they can add your band as a friend, which means they can get email notices when you add a blog or send out a bulletin. Blogging on MySpace is one of the best ways to communicate with your audience (friends), when your band has a tour coming up, an appearance, is working on new music or has any news of any kind, you’ll want to post it to your blog and keep your fans up to date. The more your communicate with fans, the more they will feel like a part of your community.

In addition, you can take advantage of a multitude of other options, including listing your influences, adding a picture gallery, adding full videos, adding banners and many other options.

Just be sure to log in often to approve new friends and to communicate with other members. There are also many MySpace Groups you can join where a message board is set up for members to communicate. Joining an emerging artist type group would help you to network with other new artists and even to promote each other, discuss new ways to get new fans, find someone to tour with or even to collaborate with.

Another essential step to promoting your music online is to have your own website. While MySpace is excellent, it’s best to have as many avenues of promotion as possible. It can be simple, with just a bit about your band and links to buy your album or it can be a major presence loaded with content. The more content you add and the more often you update your website and your MySpace profile, the better, as people will keep coming back to see your fresh content and news. Some elements to consider adding to your band’s website include biographies of the members, history of the band, news section, tour dates and appearance schedule, photos, music videos, sample songs to download, wallpapers, icons, ringtones, links to buy your album or merchandise, discography and anything else you want to let people know about. You’ll also want to link your website to your MySpace and vice versa.