Articles by Former Columnists:

• Articles by Jeannie Deva
  (From Singer's Corner while she was a columnist)
  • Effective Lead Vocals
  • Are You Helping or Hindering Your Voice?
  • Are You Helping or Hindering Your Voice? -- Part Two
  • Reaching The Breaking Point—Part One
  • Reaching The Breaking Point--Part Two
    
    
• Articles by Leon & Sheryl Olguin
  (From The Emerging Artist while they were columnists)
• Interview with Robin Krasny, Eddy Fischer and Denny Doherty: Part One
• Interview with Robin Krasny, Eddy Fischer and Denny Doherty: Part Two
• The Recording Process (Part I)
• The Recording Process(Part II)
• The Recording Process (Part III)
• The Recording Process (Part IV)
• The Recording Process - (Part V) - What Is Mastering?
• Educating Yourself - Part I
• Educating Yourself - Part II
• Educating Yourself - Part III
• Performing In The Studio
• The Value of Live Performing - for Performance
• The Value Of Live Performing - for Songwriting
• Do You Need The Music Industry?
• Three Key Questions for Every Songwriter
• Assessing Your Abilities Honestly and Accurately
• What You Do Has Worth
• Fun With the Encyclopedia
• Dealing With Stress and Setbacks
• What Makes A Great Musician

• Articles by Mike Roberts
  (From Can We Talk?: Communication Skills for Songwriters while Mike was a columnist)
  • When Confrontation Arises
  • Don't Be Pushy: Artistic Assertiveness
  • Laying The Groundwork

• Articles by Michael Askounes
  (From The Newbie's Nook while Mike was a columnist)
  • Where's My Orchestra?
  • No Talent Necessary, No Experience Required
  • Women are from Venus, Men are from Stupid
    
    
    
• Articles by Queenie Sataro
  (From Everything Indie while Queenie was a columnist)
  • Doing It Yourself: CD Design and Duplication for Indies
  • Mixing and Mastering the Easy Way for A Debut Album
  • Laying Down Tracks and Vocals
  • Performance, Musicians, and Demo Making
  • Time Management For Your Debut Album
  • Starting your CD Album--Song Creation and Song Choice
  • What defines indie? Why now, more than ever, indies are on the leading edge
    
  
  
• Articles by Paula Carpenter
  (From Why Not Me? while Paula was a columnist)
• Go With The Flow (of YOUR Life)
• Overcoming our own Mental Barriers to Success!
• PUBLISHERS--the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY
• The Good News And The Bad News
• Just the Facts, Ma'am, Just the Facts
• Making It Matter
• The Three R's of Successful Songwriters
• I Found My People!
• Do You See What I See?
• Being There
• Skydiving Lessons For Songwriters
• The Songwriting Identity Police!
• A story of rejection, improving song skills, and adopting the WHY NOT ME mindset!
  
  
  
• Articles by home recording expert, Brian Marine
  (From Home Recording For Songwriters while Brian was a columnist.)
  • Using a Computer for Home Recording
  • The Evolution of Home Recording
    
    
• Articles by Mark Curran
  (From Direct Distribution for Songwriters, while he was a columnist.)
  • Marketing Your Songs On The Internet: Your Music Sales Website- Songwriters can explore additional sources of income from their songs by making them available directly to the consumer. This is done using a music sales website. Here's how.
  • The Demo As A Sellable Product - Your demo tapes have value in the new digital marketplace, where direct distribution is now creating an alternative sales venue for songwriters and indie musicians.
    
    
    
• An Article by Matt Borgi
  (From In Sound while he was very briefly a columnist.)
  • Life-Music: The Sonic Landscape of Life - This article deals with the inspiration of life's sonic landscape, or all of the sounds around you, and how you can use them to further both your artistic process and other artistic endeavors.
    
    
• Articles by entertainment lawyer, Duff Berschback
  (From This Law Goes To 11 while Duff was a columnist. He's now an adviser to Nancy Reece helping her with the Copyright & Publishing Q&A)
  • MOCA: An Overview
  • Napster: Now Or Never?
  • Future of Music Coalition - Conference Report
  • Q&A - Collaboration - The Issues of Legality
  • Q&A - International Copyright Laws and the US Copyright Law
  • Q&A - Names Titles - Trademarks and Copyrights
  • Q&A - I Was Robbed!
    
    
    
• Articles by Tara Sales
  (From her What They Won't Tell You column while she was a columnist.)
  • Pilate - On Signing With Maple Music
  • Taylored: One of Toronto's Hottest Bands -Revealed!
    
    
• Articles by Diane Rapaport, author of How to Make and Sell Your Own Recording
  (From Music & Song Works: Rapaport Raps while Diane was a columnist)
  • Rap #1 for August 1999
  • Rap #2 for October 1999
  • MP3: Exposure for Indies; Access for the Consumer
    
    
• Articles by Shaman Sean
  (From The Channeling while Sean was a columnist)
  • Rejection
  • Knowledge & Wisdom (or knowing & 'knowing ')
  • The Three Levels (Part 1)
  • The Three Levels (Part 2)
  • Pick Up Your Room
  • The Muse Loves the Scent of Obsession
  • The Muse In Oz
  • Totem Poles
  • The anti-Muse
  • Q&A #1 - Can you tell me how to decide who gets credit for a song and how do I show that on a CD?
  • Q&A #2 - Do you suggest a strategy for dealing with a "Bad Witch"?
  • Q&A #3 - Advice on how to find good songwriting topics and how to find a good name for a band?
  • Q&A #4 - What are some examples of muses and anti-muses?
  • Q&A #5 - Comments from Readers: TV really DOES rot your mind!
  • Q&A #6 - Alternating views on the route to songwriting fame?
    
    
    
• Christina Fasano's Monthly Ramblings from December 1999 - May 2000:
  (From The Ramblings of an Independent Artist while Christina was a columnist)
  • December 1999, January 2000, February 2000, March 2000, April 2000, May 2000
  • Q&A #1 - How do you know if what you're writing is good enough?
  • Q&A #2 - Perspectives on MP3.com
  • Q&A #3 -What should I do about Writer's Block?
  • Advice for Christina
    - Well worth reading! (In response to her May Ramblings)
    
    
    
• Articles by Mirko Ruckels:
  (from Mirko's Musings: The History of Songwritingwhile Mirko was a columnist)
  • Morning, Noon & Night- Mirko Ruckels talks about The similarities between the classical and the pop\rock phrase.
  • Pretend You're Happy When You're Sad - Another article from Mirko talking about Modal Borrowing (or, how to give your progressions life by borrowing chords from other keys)
  • Lowering the Ladder - Mirko's advice on how to use modulation in your songs to make them more powerful.
  • A Q&A from Mirko's columnist section dealing with Lyrics vs. Poetry
  
  
• Articles by Ricky Fitzpatrick:
  (from Selling Out!while Ricky was a columnist)
  • The Power Of One
  • Everything But The Kitchen Sink
  • The Art of Closing the Sale
  • Shut Up!
  • The Three Keys to Successful Selling
    
    
    
• Articles by Debbie Ridpath Ohi:
  (from Songwriting Music Theory 101while Debbie was a columnist)
  • Major Scales (Part 1): Steps and half-steps - Find out what these essential musical building blocks really are.
  • Major Scales (Part 2): Sharps and Flats
  • Lesson 1: Basic Rhythm Symbols - An introduction to quarter notes, half notes, and whole notes...
  • Lesson 2: The Musical Staff - Information about the 5 line musical staff with a reader Q&A at the end.
  • Lesson 3: More about the Treble Clef - Includes information on how to make treble clef flash cards.
  • Lesson 4: Ledger Lines - Instruction and reader suggestions, plus a book review.
  • Lesson 5: The Bass Clef - If you were taking piano lessons, this would be the staff you would most strongly associate with the left hand in your early lessons...

[Back To Menu]

• Articles by Fiero and Duman
  (From their Music Industry Q&A when they were columnists)
  • Gian's Music Industry Book Recommendations - Gian's reviews on the best books for educating yourself on all aspects the music industry.
  • "The Entrepreneur's Guide To Doing Business In The Music Industry" - Gian's popular guide to understanding and successfully conducting business in the music industry for newcomers. Available for FREE to our Muse's Muse readers! (This is a 70 page e-book!)
  • "Get It In Writing" Means More Than Writing It Down - Attorney Jon L. Duman discusses the importance of getting things in writing from a business and legal standpoint.
  • Dealing With Industry Professionals - Do you find attorneys, managers, and agents to be intimidating and unapproachable? Gian gives some Dos and Don'ts on how to get the most out of your relationships with the industry people who will help you succeed.
  • Who's Managing Your Manager? - Does your manager know what he/she is doing? Gian offers some tips on how to properly evaluate the competence and effectiveness of your personal manager.
  • Finding Personal Managers - Are you looking for a manager? Gian makes a suggestion on how to go about doing it.
  • What's Love Got To Do With It? - Gian wrote this article for artists and industry professionals who are feeling burnt out and are thinking about giving up on their dreams.
  • The X Factor - Do you have what it takes to be a superstar? Gian expounds on the mysterious "X Factor" that industry professionals often refer to.
  • The Business Of American Idol - Love it or hate it but you can't ignore it. Gian talks about the magic of the American Idol marketing machine.
  • Do I need a license to perform a song that I will not record?
  • Do you know of any music clearance companies?
  • Does the church need permission to use copyrighted material?
  • What licenses are required to make a compilation CD of cover songs?
  • Could you tell me what classes I should take to become an A&R rep?
  • Which do I find first, an attorney or a manager?
  • How does demo shopping work?
  • Could you give me some audition advice?
  • Do we need permission to make a compilation CD?
  • Is This Manager Trying To Use My Relative?
  • Do I have any rights in a song from which my lyrics were removed?
  • Do you have any resources that will help me learn more about music licensing?
  
  
• Articles by Bill Pere
  (From Songcrafters' Coloring Book while Bill was a columnist)
  • Writing in the Key of W
• Sale: The Seven C's
• Expression vs Communication - The Heart of Songwriting

• An Article by Brian "Sly" Curly
  (From Beat On The Brat while Brian was a columnist)
  • The 5 "Oops - Why Did I Have to be so Influential" Artists of All Time
    

• Articles by Jon Nicol
  (From Vertical Songwriting while Jon was a columnist)
  • Out Standing Songs - With so many songs out there, here's a few thoughts on making yours stand out.
  • Tenacity - Learning from my old band...
  • Lost in Translation, Part 1 - OK, so this article isn't about the Bill Murray movie, but we will look at how we translate scripture into lyrics...
  • Lost in Translation, Part II - Same song, second verse...
  • Simon Says, "You’re Terrible!"- American Idol offers parallels to songwriting...
  • "It's All About The Rewrite" - Advice from a seasoned songwriter that took awhile to sink in...
  • The Old Jedi Songwriting Trick: Lessons from Yoda - Kermit the frog and Miss Piggy's love child gives us some songwriting tips.
  • Courage - Looking at an often overlooked tool for songwriting.
  • Does it Groove? Part Two: Exploratory Groove Surgery - Digging into what makes a worship song groove here in Part Two.
  • Does It Groove? Part One: Middle-Age Rock Guitarists and the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Album - We're finally wrapping up the "3 Rules of Worship Songwriting" in this two-part article.
  • The Eight Ball in the Corner Pocket - Jon looks at the second rule for songwriting for worship: "Does it fit the bag?"
  • Sound Theology: Truth and a Kick-in-the-Teeth - A deeper look at the first rule of songwriting for worship...
  • Groovin' in the Bag with Sound Theology
    
    
    
• Articles by Henri Ferguson
  (From Blazing My Own Trail while Henri was a columnist)
  • Becoming Authentic - Henri speaks frankly about his hopes for his next DIY project - and about what it means to him to "become authentic".
  • Passion = Success - How do you measure success? You've put out your DIY CD... Now what?
  • Keeping a Beginner's Mind -As a beginner anything is possible as long as we believe in it and this process starts at the point where we decide to record specific songs.
  • DIY "Planting Seeds" - When looking at the big picture, writing the songs and recording them was the easy part. Getting your music out there and listened to is where the real work begins. Here are some ideas on how we, as small fry indies, can do that.
  • Singer/Songwriter: The Making of a DIY CD
  • Singer/Songwriter: The Making of a DIY CD - Part 2
    
    
    
• Articles by Michael Allison
  (From The Musician's Desktop while Michael was a columnist)
• Building Your Marketing Campaigns Around Your Demographic Profile
• Who Is Your Target Audience?
• Name Recognition
• A Real Reality Check!
• Rehashing the Hash & Refrying the Beans
• Web Marketing For Musicians
• Designing a Great Band Website
• Getting Interviewed and Featured in Magazines
• The Importance of Professionalism (part 1)
• The Importance Of Professionalism (part 2)
• Q&A - Is it time to hire a publicist?
• Q&A - How Do We Find Places To Perform?
• Q&A - What Is Cross Promotion, and how do I use it?
• Q&A - Do Indie Artists Really Need A Website?

• Articles by Dick Levon
  (From Imagine That... while Dick was a columnist)
  • Every Song Penetrates
• Self-Acceptance: An Ace Up Your Sleeve
• The Gifts Of Black Horse
• Respect The Muse

• Articles by Dagmar Morgan
  (From Fine Tuning while Dagmar was a columnist)
  • Singing The Praises of Yoga
  • Resist, Resist and You Will Be Strong
  • Kickin' Cardio For Vocalists
  • Singers as Athletes
  • Fine Tuning 101

• Articles by John Taglieri of LeapDog Music
  (From The Wide, Wide World of Electronic Music while John was a columnist)
  • Time to Get Electric
  • From a Dream to a Nightmare... and back
  • The big question .... WHY?
  • How I Promoted my CD On the Net
  • Internet Radio---the New Age of Airplay
  • Q&A #1 - What do you think of all the MP3 sites popping up everywhere? Are they useful?
  • Q&A #2 - Sending CD's out for promotion? Is this really necessary?
  • Q&A #3 - How do songwriting contests work?
    

• Articles by singer/songwriter, Tyler Tullock
  (From Right Brain > Left Brain: Writing, Recording & Marketing while Tyler was a columnist)
  • The Napster Problem (Part 1)
  • The Napster Problem (Part 2)
  • Rejection For Fun & Profit
  • Pop Songwriting 101
    • Memorable Melodies (For those allergic to theory) Part 1
    • Memorable Melodies (For those allergic to theory) Part 2
    • Memorable Melodies (For those allergic to theory) Part 3
  • Sponsored Sampler CDs
    Spread your music - at no cost to you! Here's how.
    
    
• Articles by Terri Ann Palumbo
  (From Songwriters Speak while Terri was a columnist)
  • Behind The Door with Randy Jackson
• Hip-Hop To The Good Side - An interview with The Logos
• Deja Vu All Over Again - An interview with Chris Kennedy
• A Songwriter's Many Seasons- An interview with Don Ciccone
  
  
• Articles by Danny McBride:
  (from A Muse Myselfwhile Danny was a columnist)
  • Way Download Upon The Swapping River
  • Piano Is My Forte
  • Contests Rule
  • Money Honey
  • Boy!! Bands!!
  • She'll Be "Coming Down From The Mountain" When She Comes
  • Tacit Approval
  • Key To Success
  • It's About Time
  • Write Out Loud
  • Mule On Luge
  • Jose Can You See?
  • Middle Sea
  • Sing A Song Of Sixth Sense
  • Knit Pickers
  • Evans To Heaven
  • Old Yolks At Home
  • Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire
  • Napster Hamster NAMMster Dance
  • Hopelessly Demoted U2
  • A Ticket To Write
  • Muse Me While I Kiss This Guy
  • A Muse Ment
  • A Muse Zing - From the May issue of The Muse's News, about... well... writer's block. Sort of.