Respect Your Guitar

First and foremost, the new guitar player must learn the basics of keeping their guitar in good shape.

Online guitar lessons are a great opportunity for people who do not have the time or money to invest in lessons from a studio. Beginners, however, need to get some good advice on how to take care of their instrument. In a studio environment, of course, the instructor would take care of those valuable bits of advice. Some online guitar lesson providers provide their students with articles or files containing this information. In case your provider does not furnish you with this information, this article is for you.

First of all, when you finish playing for the day, protect your guitar by placing it into a stiff case that fits the shape of your guitar. If you do not play as often as you might like, take the guitar out of its case occasionally in order to allow its porous, natural parts to "breathe." Avoid temperature extremes, as well as environments with fluctuating humidity levels. Heat can do serious damage to your guitar. If you have central heat, humidify the air in order to keep the wooden parts supple, keeping cracks and warps from forming. Even a pan of water left near a vent will help, should you not own a humidifier. Cracking and warping can occur most often in cheaper instruments, because guitar makers often shorten the wood's seasoning process in their cheaper lines. Beginning players, of course, are more likely to have an inexpensive instrument.

That factor, together with your not having learned as many tips for care of their guitar as more experienced players, can be a recipe for disaster for your guitar. Therefore, please pay close attention to the environment in which you store your instrument. When you graduate to a more expensive guitar, the guitar will most likely be made of fully-seasoned wood, wood that has been completely dried before being used to manufacture the instrument. Furthermore, caring for your guitar will have become second nature by that time.

Wipe your strings after you play, using a duster or soft cloth. Exercise caution on the guitar’s wooden surfaces. Do not use polishes or other wood care products, since it is easy to ruin the delicate finish of the guitar, or cause the wood to absorb the product. You may, however, use a very slightly moistened cloth to remove grease spots, as well as other marks. Small cracks in the face or sides of the wood are common in fine guitars. Usually they are of little consequence until they attain considerable size. Before they get to that point, take your guitar to a skilled repairer, called a luthier. If, however, your instrument's fingerboard is warped, take your guitar immediately to an expert. The repair will be costly, but well worth the investment in the long run.


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Your First Gig

Landing your first gig at a venue shouldn't be difficult. In fact, if you aren’t picky about where you perform and don’t expect to make too much, if anything at all, then it should essentially be a cinch. The following are a few different routes to getting on stage you can take depending on your level, expectations and goals: 

Play At Your High School 

Most high schools have some sort of talent show every year. If you’re currently enrolled in high school, then there is no reason that you shouldn’t sign up and perform (unless everyone happens to be mysteriously sick on that day every year). It’s entirely free and you’ll have the support of your entire class/school because, next to the rest of the performers, you guys will likely be one of the few that actually display some sort of talent (we hope). 

Play At a Small Non-Venue 

By non venue, I mean a bar or a community room in a church or “youth activities center” type location. These should be relatively easy to book and often don’t require that you sell a certain number of tickets. You will, however, have to promote the show by posting flyers, sending MySpace and Facebook messages, telling/begging your family/friends, etc. all on your own because, unlike actual venues, non-venues don’t usually attract large crowds on any given night. 

Sign Up for a Battle of the Bands 

This is probably the least likely for the simple fact that you don’t find Battle of the Bands competitions very often. But if you live in a small city/community then there might be some organization that puts on an annual BOTB. Try to do some research via your local newspaper. Often times they are held at high schools as well. It could be a fun thing to do but will require a lot of research on your part. If you have the time you could even try self-hosting (and then rigging the competition!—just kidding). I’d recommend keeping this on the back of your mind while you try securing an actual gig. 

Play At an Actual Small Venue 

Depending on where you live, there should be a plethora of small venues that are always looking for local/unsigned/indie bands to perform. If you don’t already have an electronic press kit, then now would be a good time to put one together and start emailing to venues. I’d recommend first calling the venue and finding out their booking process and how long it typically takes them to get back to an artist if they’ve been chosen to perform. Then, of course, follow their directions and be sure to follow up with a phone call or email to find out whether or not they’ve actually received your press kit. Just don’t call them every single day … you don’t want to be “black-listed. “ 

Ultimately, landing your first gig shouldn’t be a difficult task. The real work is creating enough good music to have a decent set list in addition to a local fan base that will actually show up to your gig and doesn’t consist of your immediate family and the homeless man who just happened to wander in. Don’t be discouraged if the first show doesn’t go well. Even some of the biggest acts had to start off that way! Once you start playing shows, you will generate buzz and start growing a fan base. The next step is going on a mini-tour…. so start saving up for that dingy van! 

Gather A Fanabase

The internet is huge, especially for the music industry.
How does a new artist in the music industry manage to climb out of the masses and get to and gain fans? It feels confusing doesn't it?

Well there is good news and bad news:

1. The bad news is... that it is not really about being the best musician.

2. The good news is... most new artists are doing it really badly, so you can relax.

You just have to do it better than badly.

There was a stage that all one simply had to do is put together a good quality package of music, music video and great looking people. A club version release which you send to all your DJs contacts with a personal note about how much you have admired their incredible taste in music. A couple of plays and you would be on the road from club to club enjoying the rock and roll life stile. This is no longer the case

So what do you have to do now?

You need a cool group, artist, band. Then you are ready to pour out your thoughts to the masses.

So now you need to find fans. Your kind of people, they understand what you say and get excited when they see you. Yes , all your friends tell you that you are great but 20-30 friends do not make a career. Get a record deal and the record company would do it all for you. Now they expect you to arrive on the doorstep with your fans following behind. A that point it is question if you need an old style record company at all. But that is a different article.

You need to do more to get your own fans no matter what you do

There are many things you can do. I have outlined this area in great depth in my book "Online Music Traps."

The Music Industry is still in a state of major change. One solution is to just wait until the whole thing settles down. See what the new playing field looks like and then release. You are likely to be at least 10 years older and that rock and roll life style won't feel the same. You body will be too old for the late nights and the girls and boys will be too young.

My solution comes from a saying that I heard a long time ago.

"I don't want a piece of the cake, I want the recipe!"

Take that energy you have inside. The one that says, "I know I have what it takes". Point it in the right direction and let it lose. It has a good chance of getting you further than you are now.

The only thing that is certain is that the internet is going to be a major part of everyone's interaction with music, artists, managers and of course Fans. From music, music videos to concerts, either selling music, selling tickets or even online concerts or online TV, the internet will become of the main areas that this will be carried out in.

We know this as a near certainty. You have hear those conversations as people hurriedly hand out YouTube addresses or Myspace friend suggestions. "Listen to this, they are great. They are going to be the next big thing". They say to their friends on the bus or over the phone or even in a quick mail over the net mid work.. They need to be talking about you.

Fans... fans... fans....

In the music world we have long understood one thing and that gives us a huge advantage. We know that our fans are all me have and they are what make or break us. Understanding how to use the internet in the music business is learning how to transfer this ability to work with or fans to it.

There is good news and better news here.

1. the good news is that the internet makes it easy to talk to fans if you do it right and know and understand what you are doing..

2. the better news is that it is ALL FREE. 


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