The third edition of our blog series on vocal technique focuses on how to make your vocals flow. By maintaining dynamic breath support, your melodies and lyrics can sound flowing and open. Another important factor of this technique is ‘blending’, which has a lot to do with enunciation. Master blending and harness your breath support, and your vocals will flow like never before.

When it comes to setting up a DVS system, a lot of DJs find it either too tricky or believe there’s no benefit in using traditional gear alongside software, neither of which is necessarily true. Read through this article and by the end of it, you’ll realise that building a DVS (Digital Vinyl System) is fairly easy and that working with timecode vinyl or CDs can add an extra dimension to your sets. Depending on how you look at it, it’s like going digital without replacing all of your gear, or adding an analogue aspect to your kit without losing out on the perks of digital.

While recording percussion instruments isn’t exactly rocket science, there are a few small pitfalls you need to be aware of if you want to end up with perfectly mixed sound instead of an ear-splitting racket. Read on to learn some tips and tricks!

Ibanez is proving that having a guitar with just one soundhole might be a thing of the past. Sure, it’s nice that the assembled masses are able to enjoy every note you play, but it might also be just as nice if you were able to enjoy the beauty of your guitar skills in all their glory too. I mean, as a musician, actually being able to hear yourself is essential, right?

Effects are a great way to make the most of an electric guitar, which is why a lot of guitarists kit themselves out with a pedalboard and furnish it with can’t-go-wrong effects like overdrive/distortion, modulation and reverb/delay. However, there’s a host of stompboxes that you won’t find on most pedalboards that are no less inspiring than the aforementioned fan-favourites. Pitch-shifters and harmonizers are a great example and will be the focus of this first article in a series on special guitar effects. Also, if you don’t have a pedalboard yet and you’re not sure where to start, it’s probably a good idea to look at our Pedalboard Buyer’s Guide first!

When building their first pedalboard, most fresh-faced guitarists will go for the same type of pedals: an overdrive pedal for souped-up rock sounds, a reverb or delay pedal for fuller tone, and possibly a modulation pedal for warping the sound to taste. In reality, there are many more flavours to choose from, including effects that you don’t come across all the time but are actually a lot of fun to play with and can easily get your creative juices flowing. Last time, we looked at pitch shifters and harmonizers. Today, we’re checking out organ simulators!

Playing percussion is an art, just like playing any other musical instrument and, if you’re the percussionist in a band, then you also need to learn how to work seamlessly with the drummer and other musicians. In this blog, you’ll find out what’s involved in being a percussionist, including the kind of attitude you need to have, and who the masters of the percussion craft are. Right here, the ultra-experienced, all-round percussionist Martin Verdonk tells all!

Maybe you’ve just joined a new band, spent a lot of hard hours learning the setlist and finally, it’s time for the first rehearsal… or maybe even the first gig. However, on arrival, you quickly realise that the drum kit provided is not just less than optimal, but sounds like pounding on a pile of protesting margarine tubs. Everything has been set up badly and there’s a list of other small, potentially frustrating issues that’ll need fixing before anything will sound good. Luckily, you’ve come prepared, because you remembered to stash just seven magic tools and accessories away in your drumstick bag!

A lot of drummers suffer from back and wrist injuries, and often unnecessarily since a lot of afflictions can be quite easily prevented. There are just a handful of things you have to pay attention to in order to get through long practice sessions and physically demanding gigs without trouble. Read on to learn five simple tips.

One of the oldest instruments in the world, the frame drum comes in various shapes and sizes these days. Just about every region of every country seems to be home to its own unique frame drum. Some are equipped with loads of jingles, while other types only have a few jingles or none at all. One thing that all frames have in common however, is a drumhead. Let’s take a quick trip around the world and look at a number of well-known frame drums.

The sync button: every DJ controller, tabletop controller and DJ software programme has one these days, but does it spell the death of manual beat-matching and the art of DJ-ing as we know it? The discussion within the DJ-verse is currently hot, to the point where, on one side, it means the end of DJ-ing and on the other side, the sync button gives DJs even more room to play. In this blog, we take a look at both sides of the argument and offer a little advice on how to get the best out of this seemingly harmless little button.

The clarinet is one of those instruments that everyone will be familiar with but actually know very little about. The clarinet has a long history and, today, forms part of an endless list of different musical styles and genres. High time to learn more about this versatile woodwind instrument!