Muzikant

Practice may make perfect but when it comes to drumming, practice also makes a lot of noise. As such, not every neighbour, house mate or family member is going to be equally appreciative and understanding. To meet those that are slightly annoyed with your new hobby in the middle, we’ll give you 5 tips you can use to turn down the volume a little.

“When do I need to change my guitar strings?” While this question comes up a lot, there’s no clear-cut answer that will suit every guitarist. Many famous guitarists actually change their strings completely after every gig, but for most … less-famous guitarists, this might be a bit much. So, how regularly should you be changing your strings? Every month? Every year? Only when one of them breaks?

So, you’ve finally decided to take a hammer to your piggy bank and got yourself a brand new trumpet, trombone or other brass wind instrument. It only makes sense that you want it to last you a decade or two so, in this blog, we’ll provide you with a little maintenance manual that includes five tips to keep your instrument as fresh as the day you bought it.

The ukulele has grown enormously popular over the last couple of years. This little string instrument is easy to play, doesn’t cost as much as a guitar and is a lot easier to carry. All of that doesn’t mean the ukulele isn’t a fully-fledged instrument, though. Say you’re looking to buy your first ukulele or want to upgrade to a more professional model – what size ukulele best suits your needs: the sopranino, soprano, concert, tenor, baritone, bass or the guitalele? In this blog, we’ll go over all the different options so you can more easily see the forest for the trees.

So, you’ve already decided that you want to start playing the acoustic guitar, but how are you supposed to know what kind of acoustic guitar you want and which is actually the best to start learning with? In this here blog, we aim to offer all beginner guitarists a basic explanation of the differences between steel-string guitars and classical or Spanish guitars, to hopefully leave you fully equipped with the information you need to make the right decision. The first thing we’ll say is, maybe check out your favourite band or artist and see what they’re playing first. There’s a pretty big chance that they’re making the sound you want to hear and playing the kind of guitar that you want.

It seems like a fairly simple question: how can I connect my electric or acoustic guitar to a computer, like a PC, Mac or laptop, smartphone or tablet? It may or may not be a surprise to hear that our helpdesk get asked this question a lot, and quite right, since this kind of stuff is not always as straightforward as it seems. In this blog, we cover all the ways and means you can hook up your guitar and start playing and recording.

Sometimes, something happens that means you can’t play any shows for a little while. This not only makes the life of a musician or band a little bit boring, it also messes with that delicate relationship you’ve built with your devoted fans. To keep the love alive, you could easily live-stream a gig from the comfort of your living room or rehearsal space and you can even do it with great sound quality!

An appealing website, social media presence, a solid portfolio and press kits are, needless to say, no unnecessary luxury for up-and-coming bands and musicians. This includes great photographs and I don’t mean a band photoshoot but spectacular live action photos taken at your own gigs. Since most bands don’t have the budget to hire a professional, photographer Gerard Burgers is here to offer you a crash course on how to shoot impressive concert photos.

Singing while playing guitar or piano, or any other combination of vocals and an instrument for that matter, all comes down to high-level multitasking. While for some the thought alone can cause nightmares, anyone can learn to do it. Start by asking yourself two questions: 1) Can I sing? and 2) Can I play an instrument? If your answer to both questions is “yes”, then you can also do both at the same time. It’s a really just a matter of practice, practice and mostly, practicing both individually.

Sooner or later and for every guitarist, the time will come when the strings need changing. In the beginning, this can be an exciting job but get pretty awkward and fiddly. As such, I’ve put together a few tips that will hopefully make the process a little smoother and less painful. This blog is focussed on changing the strings of a classical or Spanish guitar. If you need to swap out the strings of your steel-string acoustic and need a few tips, then you might want to check out a different blog.

You’ve no doubt spent lot of time pouring over our advice on choosing the right ukulele and, now you’ve got one of these delightful little fellas in your hands, your chords aren’t quite sounding as they should. But, how do you know if your uke is in tune? And how can you tune up your ukulele with the help of a tuner? In this very blog, you will find the answers to these questions and more so you can get the very best out of your new pal.

Ok, so you want to play guitar but, having looked through all the many variations and flavours of guitar available, you still have no idea what an absolute beginner is going to need to really get started. As such, we’ve put together a little blog to help pick through the confusion and help you decide. We’ll lay out the differences between acoustic guitars and electric guitars so you can hopefully walk away, better informed and able to find the perfect study buddy.