My Music Supply

Playing your first gig is surely one of the
most exciting events of your life, a wonderful opportunity to show your music
to the public and to set off on the road towards fame. Gigs are as much about the
quality of the music played as they are about advance planning, so here are a
couple of things to pay special attention to:

• -The order of the songs – start
  and end the gig with two of your best songs, to make sure you start strong and
  you leave a strong impression right before you leave the stage;
• -The time between the songs –
  it is not easy to fill that gap, especially if you don’t have very much
  experience moving around and talking on the stage. Write the text that you are
  going to say and learn the linking text by heart – you can improvise, too, but
  it is important to have at least a draft of what you want to say;
• -Don’t change the band
  configuration in the last minute – if you have been practicing with each of the
  members in a certain place, don’t change that because it is likely to confuse
  everyone and mess up the entire gig.

Enjoy your first gig! And let My Music Supply help you with all your music needs.

Article source here: Things to Know Before Playing Your First Music Gig

Whether you want to form a band, just jam or
compose songs, nothing compares to playing with other musicians. If there are
no musicians in your group of friends, here are some tips about how to find
people to play with:

• -Place an ad in a local music
  store like My Music Supply – these shops are like meeting places for musicians, anyone who plays
  music will need strings, drumsticks or other accessories eventually and when
  they go to the shops, they will see your ads. The method might seem old school,
  but many of the world’s greatest bands were formed that way;
• -Go to local rehearsal rooms –
  these places also have walls where you can place your ads and they are great
  for meeting other musicians personally;
• -Go to local bars where live
  music is played – try to find places where amateur musicians are allowed to
  jam, you are most likely to find some interested candidates there;
• -Look online – social media
  platforms are great for getting the word out that you are looking for
  musicians. You can also find websites that specialize exactly in what you need,
  providing space for ads to look for musicians and to tell forming bands that
  you are available.

Article source here: ​ How To Find Friends To Play Music with

Starting a band with your friends
is a great idea, but even if you can find the right people, getting started is
not easy. Here are some tips for you:

• -Figure out your sound –
  if you have the band configuration, you can start discussing your style. Try to
  think not about the music that you and the other members of the band like, but
  also about what music would match your level of skills. You can get started if
  each of the members comes up with some well-known songs to try – start writing
  music of your own only when you can play covers to perfection;
• -Find a place where you
  can practice without disturbing anyone – your garage might be spacious and just
  perfect for your practice sessions, but if your music disturbs others, such as
  your neighbors or your family, finding a location in a mire secluded area is a
  better idea;
• -Figure out the name – a
  cool band name is half the success, so pay special attention to finding the
  right name. Brainstorm catchy, attention-grabbing names that are indicative of
  the music that you play as well as your band’s attitude towards life and are
  also easy to spell and to remember.
• Look for a quality drum kit, guitars, and other instruments to perfect your sound.

Article source here: Tips for Starting a Band with Your Friends

Listening to music has well-known therapeutic
effects, exceeded only by playing an instrument – here is how actively playing
music can be good for your body and your soul:

• -Physical exercise – playing
  any instrument requires the player to take the correct posture and to coordinate
  their body movements as well. Whether you play the drums, the piano, the
  guitar, the violin, the flute or any other instrument, you will work your
  muscles in an unnoticeable way, training your body while you practice;
• -Stress relief – playing music
  is an excellent way to relieve stress at beginner levels as well as at more
  advanced levels;
• -Concentration – one of the
  most important mental benefits of playing a musical instrument is the improved
  ability to focus on an activity for a specific amount of time;
• -Help with depression and
  insomnia – music is a form of self-expression that not only relieves stress,
  but also calms down racing thoughts and ensures better, calmer, more relaxing
  sleep and enables a more positive outlook on life;
• -A sense of achievement – being
  able to play the tunes that you want after having put in all the hard work will
  make you happy, content with life and will give you a great sense of success.

My Music Supply is a great resource for anyone interested in learning to play or purchasing an instrument.

Article source here: How Playing an Instrument Can Be Therapeutic

Percussion is probably the largest
family of musical instruments, with hundreds of different types of instruments
that are sounded either with bare hands or with hitting tools. 

While most people
would want to play a standard drum set and become a member in a rock band, you
must be aware that there are many other options available, too – here are some
factors to help you decide:

• -The music that you like
  – determine the music styles that you enjoy listening to and identify the role of
  the percussion section in your favorite songs and choose your instrument
  accordingly;
• -Your height and
  strength – playing a standard drum set might seem like the most straightforward
  choice, but if you are not tall enough to be able to hit all the drums in the
  set with sufficient strength or if your current level of physical fitness is
  not the best, you can start with smaller instruments that are not played in a
  set, such as hand drums;
• -What feels right – try
  out as many instruments as you can and try to figure out which one feels the
  best to play, which percussion instrument is comfortable to sit by and to hit
  with all your might.

Article source here: ​ How to Decide Which Percussion Instrument Is Right for You

Music shops are no longer the only places where
you can buy percussion instruments – there are many reliable cymbals online sources
where you can get cymbals, as well as many other online sources for other types of percussion instruments that you want at favorable prices. Here are
some tips about how to make sure you get what you pay for when you order your
drums or other percussion instruments on the internet:

• -Consider it all a bid – when
  you see an instrument that you like, don’t be shy to make a bid, even if the
  price you are willing to pay is lower than the asking price. Buying a music
  instrument is like buying anything else – a matter of negotiation;
• -Consider used instruments, too
  – this is an especially great idea for beginner musicians who are still
  experimenting and trying to find the perfect instrument without having to pay
  too much for it;
• -Rely on feedback – online
  sellers cannot afford to be dishonest or to sell instruments that have
  undisclosed flaws because of the negative feedback they might get from unhappy
  buyers. Before choosing a seller, check the reviews and the comments posted by
  other users – it will help you decide whether the seller is reliable or not;
• -Ask questions and request more
  photos – the more you know about the item you want to buy, the better.

Article source here: Tips for Buying Percussion Instruments Online

Encouraging one of your kids to play
music is a great thing and there is no better way to do that than to offer an
instrument as a gift. Drum sets make especially great presents for music
lovers – here is why:

• -Drums are relatively easy to
  learn – getting started with drums is easier than with other instruments and a
  sense of achievement and success comes earlier, too, so a kids drum set is great for
  encouraging development and learning;
• -Excellent physical exercise – drum
  sets are large and require some strength to play, so the person that you are
  presenting with it will surely build some muscles and will enjoy better posture
  as well;
• -Improved focus and
  coordination – A kids drum sets is an excellent development tools as well, improving
  mental abilities, such as concentration as well as physical one, such as the
  coordination of the movements of the hands and the feet;
• -Making friends – with the drum
  set you will also buy your child the opportunity to socialize, to make new
  friends, to play in a band and to get to play on the stage as well. In other
  words, when you buy a drum set, you also buy potential success.

Article source here: Why Drum Kits Make Great Presents

Being from Michigan, one of my summer activities (in 2013, to be exact) was attending Electric Forest. 

The music festival, featuring a lot of jam bands, electronic music, hip hop, and everything in between. It truly is a forest – art installations, stages, restaurants, all under the canopy of beautiful evergreen trees in western Michigan. The first morning I was walking along a path, when I noticed a group of people laying, eyes closed, in a jungle-gym structure, meditating in the morning light. The structure was covered in…gongs? 

Goth bathing is a trendy activity, a form of meditation that’s been around a long time, even though it’s blowing up in popularity in our current world. It’s similar to a lot of other forms of meditation, obviously like other sound meditation such as tibetan singing bowls. Sometimes, these are used in tandem. 

MY experience was great. It started off very quiet. There’s usually an instructor (or a few) that guide you through the experience. The sound grew very gradually, but never reached ear-splitting volume levels that gongs are well able to reach. Makes sense, that would kind of ruin the meditation aspect. The awareness of the sound acts as an anchor for the mind to use as a base point. I’ve tried a few different types of meditation, and I generally find that my mind moves to fast for it. But I found this comforting. 

At Denver Percussion, we have a wide selection of different types of gongs. We’re looking into hosting a gong bath soon-stay tuned! 

Article source here: Gong Baths?!

Learning to play percussion instruments,
like the tuneable timpani, involves learning the jargon as well, so here are some basic percussion terms
that you will encounter:

• -Groove – also known as beat, a
  drum groove is the rhythmic pattern of the music played;
• -Throne – the term is used for
  the seat occupied by the drum player;
• -Tempo – the speed of the play.
  Many drummers practice that with the help of a small ricking device called a
  metronome;
• -Grip – the way the drummer
  holds the drumstick. There are several styles, from holding the stick like a
  fork (called the American grip), the French grip, the Germanium grip to the
  matched grip, the traditional grip and many other styles;
• -Rudiments – these are drum
  patterns that can be used as drills or can be combined to compose drum solos.
  There are around 40 rudiments that drummers commonly use;
• -A practice pad – this is an
  imitation drum that gives a realistic feel to the player, but makes no sound.
  It is used by drummers for practicing in environments where they are not
  supposed to make noise;
• -Drum fill – the part of the
  song when the other instruments stop and the drummer gets the opportunity to
  play solo.

Article source here: Must-Know Percussion Terms

“More cowbell” is a slang phrase
often used to refer to something that the person using the phrase feels that is
lacking or is not available in a sufficient amount. The cowbell being a hand
percussion instrument, often used in salsa music, the phrase was initially used
to refer to music, in a comedy sketch that centered on the rock music of the
1970’s. The sketch first aired in 2000, on Saturday Night Live and it featured
guest star Christopher Walken in the role of a music producer, with other
members of the cast including Will Ferrell, Chris Parnell and Jimmy Fallon. The
protagonists of the sketch are the members of the Blue Öyster Cult, a hugely
successful American rock band and clip is about the recording of their most
popular song, ”(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”. In the sketch, the band starts playing
the song that includes a very loud cowbell sequence, too, but the producer asks
for even more cowbell to be introduced and also asks the player of the cowbell
to explore the space more. The cowbell player starts dancing wildly while
playing the cowbell, which causes the recording process to stop. The player
then tries to cooperate with the other members of the band, but the producer
only insists to have more cowbell in the song, which leads to lots of funny
situations.

If you need more musical cowbell in your life, visit My Music Supply.

Article source here: Where Did “More Cowbell” Come From?