New Testimonial

Really love getting testimonials from clients. This was an awesome project to work on and was great fun for me also!!

We worked with Neil on a recent project to formulate and record a song I had written. We had the words and a general idea of the tune but Neil helped us to form the structure and rhythm which came together to form the complete song.  He was really helpful in giving us different options in terms of sounds, rhytym etc and he edited the song to a professional standard.  We were really pleased with the finished piece, which went viral really quickly. If we ever decide to do anything similar again we will definitely be contacting Neil!

Thanks a million Alison and Sandra and hope your song goes everywhere!!PeaceNeil

25th Anniversary of Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare

It is nearly the 25th Anniversary of Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare Album (where has the time gone?). Passion and Warfare at the time and still today is a groundbreaking and crucial album, so I thought it was time to write a few thoughts about it, and also hear what your thoughts are on this seminal guitar album as well.

For the love of god

Now, there is no denying that I could easily write a thesis on the album, but I will try and keep it consise. I would also say, that there is probably a fair amount of bias in my opinions of this album, but I will try and be as objective as I possibly can.So, I will get this out of the way straight away......personally for me it is probably one of the most important albums I own and one of the most important 'guitar' albums out there. It is also without doubt Steve Vai's greatest masterpiece, which is amazing given what he has written subsequently, but I feel nothing comes close to the perfection of composition that is Passion and Warfare.Now, I know it isn't for everyone, and I think that is the point.Passion and Warfare is NOT in my opinion a guitar excess album, it is a piece of compositional art, from an artist (who's brush is the guitar) not afraid to explore the medium and push boundaries of the medium. If you read Steve's accounts of the creation of this album, one of the most crucial points seems to be that it was made without (at that time) any constraints (or at least not that many) from record companies.Steve was earning money (and experience) firstly from Frank Zappa and then as Dave Lee Roth's hired gun (Eddie Van Halen replacement!). With borrowed equipment and the ability to work and jam with great musicians (who helped out on the recording process), Steve, also had a backlog of great material he had (at that point) been working on for most of his life. So, there was in one sense,  no pressure on this album, at least commercially. Steve himself stated that he never expected to sell a single copy.Steve (and he has said this himself) made an album for himself, pushing and exploring his own boundaries.

Stunt guitar

I feel when considering this work, you have to consider that it is not a 'guitar instrumental' album in it's truest sense, it is a compsitional work of creative art, pushing boundaries of music composition (e.g. Alien Water Kiss) and not just guitar histrionics. I feel that one needs to consider that the 'stunt' guitar is part of the narrative of the album, it simply forms part of the entire artwork.To fully understand it, and what I believe Steve was trying to acheive, you need to consider Passion and Warfare from a structural and compositional perspective. I believe that is where it's success lies and what has not only made it stand the test of time, but has propelled Steve to the guitar diety that he is.From the beginning of album, kicking off with Liberty, you are drawn in to a strong narrative form, guiding you through Steve's inner thoughts and feelings at the time. Each composition telling you it's story and each indvidual story forming part of an overall cohesieve narrative. Unlike many of it's predecessors and those whom came after, it is NOT, as many guitar albums (even the good ones!) are, some one noodling away over a relatively static backing track, trying to use flash and gimmricky to lure you in...all form without substance.This is also something early Satriani, with Surfing with the alien and (some of) Flying with a Blue Dream was able to do.....guitar compositional story telling.It is this story telling, which I believe listeners are drawn to and keeps you going back for the repeat listens, you want to hear these stories again and again, because there is depth and nuance to them. Perhaps, lacking in later works (controversial I know!).

"I am that..." - Steve Vai

Passion and Warfare takes you on full in the face and tells you it's story. The greatest thing about Steve (and I have been fortunate enough to study on his course at Berklee....and also fortunate to gain his Berklee Scholarship) is that his message is to be individual, to find your own voice on the instrument, to write and produce the music YOU love!It doesn't matter what it is or what form it takes,.What matters is that it is personal to you and has all of your internal energy in it. If it has these elements, then whatever your art, it will be good, even if it is just to you and it is good to you then you have realise thati it will be good to other people. I mean think about it, think of the music, art, photography, films you like, you like them and so do other people, these are the people who are on your wavelength, so don't be surprised that in the world/universe that if you produce something from your heart, others will like it.I really think that message is lost in this day and age and probably the reason we will never really experience the glory years of 80's guitar instrumentals.....there aren't enough unique voices willing to explore their art at all costs.You can purchase Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare here (should you not own it already....shame on you!)What are you thoughts? What are you favourite tracks?Top 3 Favourite tracks

• The Animal
• Answers
• For the love of god

EnjoyPeaceNeil

10 ways to become a successful musician

It is the question we all want to know the answer too, and it is the one that tends to allude the majority of us. One of the things to consider when posing this question is, 'what does the word successful mean to you?'.  After you have taken some time to answer this question, this article provides you with, 10 ways to become a successful musician.

What is success for me?

In this great world of ours it could mean a multitude of things, and depending on what those things are depends on the way that you might want to approach answering the question. Well, from my perspective it is quite simple, it means, currently being able to support my current standard of living through earnings made from my own music related income streams. Now this might be very different for you, success might be owning a Ferrari, or playing Madison Square Gardens (obviously I wouldn't mind those, but they don't drive me on a day to day basis....although a Ferrari would obviously drive me....being a car...sorry terrible joke!).By utilising the positivity of Law of Attraction, then be just focusing in on your own set goals can help you realise them, yes this really can happen. (Click here for a great article on 12 Ways the Law of Attraction can change your life)

Define your goals

Once your have defined a goal, ambition or sentence of what success means to you, the following 10 suggestions of ways to success can really help you on your way to finding success.1. Manage your expectationsAs I have just stated above, the first thing you need to do is "set a goal." Do you want to be the next Ed Sheeran ? Then you need to appreciate like most 'stars',  Ed cut his teeth for years busking, playing the dodgy clubs, bars before he became the Ed Sheeran we know today. These things take time, there is no such thing ever as over night success.  So, my friends,  it is time to realise that anything that comes too easy, isn’t real!!! But more importantly, anything you put time and effort into, will come back to you.2. Create interesting and engaging contentThis goes without saying really doesn't it, but sometimes things that aren't said need to be said. Whatever you create, whatever genre you find yourself in, whatever random vibration of air molecules you inflict on to the universe, make sure it is the best you can do (at this point in time!). Realise that you should always strive to improve, always be open to learning, but music (like any art) is a lifetime study....you can't know it all now, so don't worry! BUT, most importantly don't let that stop you from putting out your art now. Just try to ensure it is the best you can do (now), and not only that, but that it is engaging. On top of your actual content (your music for example), also realise that you aren't just promoting your musical content but all the other aspects associated with it...basically, through all your content, create a world for that music to live in.3. Create video content Following on from point 3, there is no escaping the fact that videos are the new rock and roll. Videos are just SO IMPORTANT these days, not just to fans, but also to everyone else in the music business who wants to access you. They are your calling card, with a potential network of BILLIONS of people. The best thing is that in this day and ages to produce a video doesn't have to cost much money, you can do it yourself on your phone and some basic software and get it out there straight away (follow the advice from point 2)4. Submit your music to your favorite blogs and websitesThe internet has empowered you to be your own publisher, you don't need a record deal, you don't need a fancy publicist....do it yourself!!5. Develop a brandOkay, so this is always a tricky one, especially if you don't like stepping outside of your self and standing out in a crowd. But it doesn't mean being flamboyant and over the top in terms of what your wear or do, but it does mean develop a style which is matched across all of your content. It could be simple like the polo neck, jeans and trainers that Steve Jobs always wore, be comfortable in your brand and make sure it matches the areas you wish to target. Make sure that it is consistent across your website, business cards, gear, cases etc Again think Apple, you may love or hate them, but you know when something is an Apple product. "Developing a unique style can help set the tone for your music by making for compelling press photos and visually pleasing live performances.”6. Become an effective networker We have all heard the saying, "it's not what you know, it's who you know...", well as sad as it is, it is true and the best way to know people is through networking. Yes, networking!!! Sorry, but it is a necessary evil and there is no better way in getting out there, than....well getting out there and letting people know you exist. Part of being a great networker, is firstly believing in what you are doing and yourself and secondly, being an effective communicator. Spending time developing you ability to speak and communicate with others will help you better describe your music when someone asks you what you sound like, help you do the in-between song batter, help you talk contracts with managers and so on.7. Communicate via social media It is probably the best time in the history of the human race to be able to publish art and get it out there to a global audience. There are so many channels as well, all eager for you to promote yourself and content on, Facebook. Twitter. G+. Snapchat. Instagram. YouTube. Vine. Etc. Etc. Etc. So go out there, find where your fans are and communicate with them effectively on at least one or two of those platforms (you don't need to be, and you can't be on all of them...find those which work for you and embrace them!)8. Put together a marketing strategy Another evil term from the business world, but like business, you are a business, your business is you! So, take a few tips from the business world and apply them to your art . If you want to make some money with your music (if that is how your define your success criteria), then I am afraid to say you will need some form of business model, nothing complex, just try answering some simple questions, such as......What are you selling? Who’s your target audience? Who’s your competition?”9. Talk to your fans directlyThe internet makes the world one massive global village, and the tools we have at our disposal we can now interact with our fans 24/7/365 and our fans expect to interact with us, they want to be part of our success and want to assist us. The more direct, honest, and engaged you are with your fans, the more loyal your fanbase.10. Make good Art The marketing guru Seth Godin is a real advocate of creating art, and creating great and person art. He discusses this concept at great length in his fantastic bookLinchpin: Are You Indispensable? How to drive your career and create a remarkable future and I guess it goes without saying, at the end of the day taking into account all of the points mentioned above, you can only get by on looks, branding and marketing strategies for so long. At the end of the day it boils down to whether or whether or not you have AWESOME art. But I am pretty sure that you already do!Good luck!!EnjoyPeaceNeil

PRS taking legal action against Soundcloud over royalties

So it has finally happened, PRS for music is taking on the might of SoundCloud over streaming royalties. I just had an email from PRS drop into my inbox (see below) detailing the circumstances that have arisen and let to this legal course of action. Personally speaking I think that this is a big deal for the industry as a whole, and is coming at a time when people and artists are finally getting to grasps with the new music business income streams and realising that a lot of these tech companies are actually taking the mickey a bit when it comes to payments made to content creators (this isn't exclusively a music industry problem I feel, but most of the creative arts). So it would seem that PRS for music is putting it's money where it's mouth is at and standing up for it's members (I am a member I should add!) and trying to some extent to get it's members what they are entitles to, which at the end of the day is just a fair deal.

PRS for Music, what does it do?

The way that PRS For Music works is by trying to make sure that any of it's members are paid a royalties (for the song writer writing the material, and for the sound recording) when their music is played on radio, TV, public performance etc, this is one of the only ways a writer receives income from their work, so it is crucially important, especially in the days of self-publishing. It has been reported that Soundcloud has over 175 million unique listeners a month, that is an incredible amount of listeners! But up until now Soundcloud is NOT a PRS license holder, which means any PRS member who's content is on the site is not being paid a bean when their music is streamed from Soundcloud, but for a company valued at $700 million this [*1] isn't really playing fair is it.So in the email from PRS For Music, they have said “after careful consideration, and following five years of unsuccessful negotiations, we now find ourselves in a situation where we have no alternative but to commence legal proceedings against the online music service SoundCloud.” We are entering a brave new world, only time will tell what the outcome will be. There is no denying, streaming is the future of music, but if we don't compensate those who create, what will there be to stream, or at least what NEW material will there be to stream?What are your thoughts?

PRS for Music members email

Dear Member,

PRS for Music begins legal action against SoundCloud  After careful consideration, and following five years of unsuccessful negotiations, we now find ourselves in a situation where we have no alternative but to commence legal proceedings against the online music service SoundCloud.  When a writer or publisher becomes a member of the Performing Right Society, they assign certain rights to their works over for us to administer, so it’s our job to ensure we collect and distribute royalties due to them. SoundCloud actively promotes and shares music. Launched in 2008, the service now has more than 175m unique listeners per month. Unfortunately, the organisation continues to deny it needs a PRS for Music licence for its existing service available in the UK and Europe, meaning it is not remunerating our members when their music is streamed by the SoundCloud platform. Our aim is always to license services when they use our members’ music. It has been a difficult decision to begin legal action against SoundCloud but one we firmly believe is in the best, long-term interests of our membership. This is because it is important we establish the principle that a licence is required when services make available music to users. We have asked SoundCloud numerous times to recognise their responsibilities to take a licence to stop the infringement of our members’ copyrights but so far our requests have not been met.  Therefore we now have no choice but to pursue the issue through the courts.    We understand SoundCloud has taken down some of our members’ works from their service. With our letter of claim, we sent SoundCloud a list of 4,500 musical works which are being made available on the service, as a sample of our repertoire being used, so that they understood the scale of our members’ repertoire and its use on the service.  We asked them to take a licence to cover the use of all our members’ repertoire or otherwise stop infringing.  SoundCloud decided to respond to our claim by informing us that it had removed 250 posts. Unfortunately, we have no visibility or clarity on SoundCloud’s approach to removing works, so it is not currently clear why these particular posts have been selected by them given the wider issue of infringement that is occurring. Ultimately, it is SoundCloud’s decision as to whether it starts paying for the ongoing use of our members’ music or stops using these works entirely. If the streaming market is to reach its true potential and offer a fair return for our members, organisations such as SoundCloud must pay for their use of our members’ music. We launched our Streamfair campaign in June to raise awareness of this issue and highlight how music creators need to be properly remunerated from streaming. We believe that all digital services should obtain a licence which grants them permission to use our members’ music and repertoire, in this case the works of songwriters, publishers and composers.  The streaming market cannot fairly develop unless this happens. We have always been pro-licensing and pro-actively work with organisations in order to propose an appropriate licensing solution for the use of our members’ works. We remain hopeful that this matter can be resolved without the need for extended litigation. Members will appreciate that this is now a legal matter and our ability to communicate around it is therefore limited by the legal process. However, we will try to share information and updates whenever we can.Please visit our website to read our frequently asked questions.

Yours faithfully,Karen BuseExecutive Director, Membership and InternationalPRS for Music

EnjoyPeaceNeil[*1]  Source - Soundcloud $700 Million Valuation 

Achieving your goals

I wrote this article a while back for some students, who were questioning how does one go about achieving your goals? Well, I can't say I have all the answers, but there are certain tactics you can employ to help you achieve your goals. Be wary though, that you should not just focus on the goal and miss out on the journey that you are undertaking to achieve it. Every step is important on your journey, embrace each step and learn something from it, also be alert to the fact that your destination to the goal might change because you discover something else along the trail."When I grow up, I wanna be a famous Rock and Roll guitar player" - Mr VaiI have read something similar to this lesson before a long time ago in an interview with Steve Vai, and it is something I have been trying to do for a long time, not just with my guitar playing, but in life in general. For me it is like climbing a mountain, the goal is to reach the summit, but to reach the summit, there are a lot of steps to get there, so saying to yourself 'I am going to take 20 steps today', is away of breaking the goal down into manageable chunks.I have a combination of higher level goals, and then smaller goals. All part of SMART system I have been using from many years

• Specific – target a specific area for improvement.
• Measurable – quantify or at least suggest an indicator of progress.
• Assignable – specify who will do it. (ME)
• Realistic – state what results can realistically be achieved, given available resources.
• Time-related - When will you do it by

So to give you an idea, some of my bigger goals, are to continue generating an income through guitar and music related activities, be my own boss, play live as much as possible and to hopefully create something that inspires one person on this planet, or at least is something that makes them happy, just like the music of so many has done for me. These are the higher level goals, first step I would recommend is taking time, as much as time as you need to think of what your higher level goals are, and write them down.What next? Well, the smaller steps I take to the bigger goals are to continually look for opportunities to meet and play with other musicians, from small bar gigs through to the larger function gigs which I do. I try and write as much music as possible, as well as practice areas on the guitar which I think are my weakest. The next biggest goal is to find my own unique guitar voice. When I daydream, it is about playing with awesome musicians and getting lost in the moment.To achieve this I have realised that (thanks to studying at Berklee!) there are quite a few holes in my knowledge, and by working on these smaller goals, will put me in a better place to achieve the bigger ones. One of my current weaknesses is - my ear, thus I am working on ear training. my technique, I have reached a barrier on what i can do, I need to move over this barrier and get out of a rut (thus I am taking these courses), my fretboard knowledge and my song knowledge (I have played thousands of songs, but keep forgetting them) and finally my brand and image, I have to believe that I am a guitarist to be one, this is something Steve Vai talked a lot about when I studied under him at Berklee.I have been very fortunate to do many interesting and exciting things in life, but every since I was knee high to a grasshopper, there is literally nothing in my life which gives me the true inner happiness of playing guitar and I mean that either hammering out riffs along with a record, or a dodgy duo gig in a rough pub to being on a massive stage, or even at rehearsal. The feeling of locking in, being in the pocket, those moments when you transcend your body and become the music (without I hasten to add any artificial or chemical encouragement). I do it for that, those moments when your body has a haptic sensation caused by the simple vibration of molecules of air, be it something you have created or someone else.I also get the same kinds of feelings when you create a new sound from scratch, a sound which perfectly meets the expectation of the visual element, or the composition which transcends notes and fits perfectly with the visual to make you feel some form of emotion. I am still a small fish in a big pond, but if for these reason I do this, because nothing else comes close to creating the same levels of fulfilment, satisfaction, joy, despair, worry, happiness. That is why I bother, and it is feast and famine, sometimes you have to dip back in to other income streams, but for me there is no escaping it.

• Set down on paper you goals, really take some time to think about them.
• Take small steps everyday towards them, some days you will take lots of steps more than you thought, others you might not take any or fall back a few, it doesn't matter as they average out.
• Enjoy the journey, be open to the fact the goal might change and that you discover something else along the way that brings you happiness.

I'd love to hear how you go about achieving your goals...leave them in the comments below.EnjoyPeaceNeil

Inspiration

Inspiration is a very interesting topic, so I thought I would dedicate a blog post to thinking and discussing it. As a lecturer it is a concept which I try to communicate how import it is to find inspiration in whatever form it takes, and going with inspiration you feel to creating your art. I personally, go to a number of places for inspiration, primarily it is the music and performers of my formative years which provide the greatest amount of inspiration, and probably one of the biggest of those is Steve Vai. Although, inspiration for me can come from a variety of different sources, it is just a case of being open to it and seeing how an idea can inform the art you are trying to create.

Going back to Steve Vai, I remember reading his Martian Love Secrets series of articles in Guitar World (around 1988 something!) and it really did change my world. The ideas (some of which have already been touched on in my blog and in my book), really resonated with a young me, and changed not just my perspective on guitar playing but on life as well) These days, thanks to the internet, I find inspiration in so many different places and through so many musicians. I have always been a massive fan of a wide range of much from Blues, Soul, funk and Motown and have really been inspired by the musicians who formed it basis and in particular their stories. BB King has become a massive inspiration for me, and the ability to be instantly recognisable by one note and the ability to make one single note convey so much emotion from joy to sadness, is a massive motivator for me when trying to be inspired to create new material. Thinking of how others are able to create so much feeling within a simple vibration of air molecules is something which continues to inspire me.

I find that I gain a lot of inspiration from outside of music, from all kinds of creative fields, and sometime (bizarrely) people who are doing well in their lives. In particular, thanks to things like TED talks, I have found inspiration in many of their differing talks, in particular in 'just going for it' with life and doing what you have to do. You make your own life and you only get one shot, so you have to make it the best it can be. In fact, whilst not a TED talk, this video of Steve was incredibly inspirational.

Steve Vai on How to be successful

I have also just watched a fascinating documentary about The Creative Brain: How Insight Works, which provided some fantastic information about how creativity works, and how, most importantly that when the mind wanders it is at it's most creative. The programme looks issues around that ' moment when a light goes on in your head. In a sudden flash of inspiration, a new idea is born', something I am sure we can all relate to. I found it particularly interesting that the mind seemed to be at it's most creative when the person was not just doing nothing at all, but mindless (no pun intended) tasks (e.g. arrange bricks into the same colour), this would explain why perhaps we have our best ideas in the shower or out for a walk or when meditating on an idea.

I have also found that working with other people, such as students, other tutors, musicians and creatives who tend to be incredibly supportive and inspirational, sometimes in very small ways, but each inspire me to want to do more with the guitar, my music and my art and showing me that everything is possible.

In short I tend to take inspiration from everything around me, no matter how small and yes I think it is to create inspiration, by getting into the right state of mind, or being around creative and inspirational people. That would be my advice today.

Enjoy

Peace

Neil

The music 'business' and some of the new myths

So, I just came across this fantastic blog post from the band Pomplamouse and it makes fascinating reading on the current state of the music 'business' and some of the new myths surrounding revenue streams and the profitability of touring. I put the word business in quotes as it seems that the traditional music business/industry we know is in it's dying stages, a mammoth of a beast, too greedy and slow to turn itself around and look for new and sustainable revenue streams. Rather than the approach of suing it's customers, the ones it had already fleeced several times over with new formats (cassette, mini-disc, CD) and remasters etc, it could have look at what was happening and adapt and actually give consumers what they wanted (which appears now to be streamed music...although that personally doesn't interest me).Streaming is interesting, it has become normalised with the younger generation, to the point where, when you do the maths, teenagers now were being born as CD's were loosing out to MP3. The younger generation only know mp3s, just like your parents only knew vinyl or 8 track, and not wax cylinders! It is a shame, mp3 is a compressed lossy format, you are paying for a substandard product, but then again most people are listening it to it through very substandard equipment (iPods, mobile phones, headphones on buses etc). Streaming gives you the song you want to hear now, when or where ever you are, that is pretty fantastic when you think of it. Do we really care anymore about the quality, or even listening to a product in full? I remember the days when you would pour over one album for weeks or months (or even years), but now listen to 2 minutes of a track, move on to the next one by a different artist. The attention span is dying, because there is so much other content to draw us in, so much content which is Free.So how do we make this work?If I knew that I would be pretty well off by now, but what I think the Pomplamouse article highlights is that, whilst they toured at a loss, they treated the whole process like a commercial business project, they paid themselves a wage, they treated every aspect like any other small/medium business might approach selling, from a bakery to a shoe shop, and I think that this is to be admired. Like any business too, they ran at a loss in their first attempt (lets equate that to year), we all know it takes a number of years for a business to turn a profit, so they are doing very well. Why do I think that, because I am sure that the next tour they do will have more people, they can up those numbers, they can sell additional product in the mean time. Mostly importantly, they are in control, they are not in debt to the big corporate music 'business' which is like an ocean liner trying to turn in a port, they are in control of their business and it succeeds or fails in their hands. Think of your music, band, creative venture as a business, treat it like a business, promote it like a business and hopefully you will find that this might be the new way!PeaceNeil