Podcasts about mel bay publications

You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books. Stefan Grossman's Complete Country Blues Guitar Book is a repertoire book of various substyles of fingerstyle blues (general old time country blues, Delta blues, ragtime blues, Texas blues, and bottleneck blues).  Most of the tunes are suitable for late-beginner and intermediate fingerstyle players, although advanced players will certainly enjoy the tunes as well.  The music in this book may sound “old-timey” (much of it comes from the 1920s and 30s), but it is really fun to play if you are interested in the style.  Aside from the large selection of tunes, the book provides tons of cool history, interviews of blues players (Skip James and W.C. Handy), and historical photos – makes for a great coffee table book! The book is organized into sections for each substyle of fingerstyle blues.  At the beginning of each section there is a textual description and history of the blues substyle being presented.  Before each tune, there is a description of where that tune originated from, who played it in this style, important recordings to listen to, and some technical performance details. Most of the tunes provide you with a single progression of the tune – sometimes only 20 or 30 seconds long.  In a real performance you would probably want to repeat the form multiple times with singing, variations, or improvisation.  My only complaint about the book is that it would have been helpful if the author had explained this a bit more.  However, if you take the listening recommendations seriously then you will get the idea. The book provides both treble clef and tablature.  There are no right or left-hand fingerings provided (except occasionally in the description before the tune).  The tablature is unusual in that the fret numbers are written between the lines instead of on the lines, but I quickly adjusted to it without any problem. The majority of the tunes use standard tuning.  However, alternate tunings are used extensively within the sections on “Country Blues Guitar: The Alternating Bass and Open Tunings” and “Bottleneck Blues Guitar.” This is a repertoire book full of song arrangements.  This is not a method book that teaches you the fundamentals of how to play fingerstyle blues guitar.  However, if you have some fingerstyle experience, then this book will provide you with a lifetime of fun (at almost 260 pages, it will literally last you a very long time). Authentic fingerstyle blues tunes from various substyles. Great organization. Good difficulty graduation – easier tunes to start each section. Short tunes. Lots of alternating bass and monotonic bass Strange tablature will take a few minutes to adjust to. No fingerings for right or left hand. No audio access, but there are lots of listening recommendations that are helpful. The book doesn't get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc.  No thumb slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping. I recommend using an acoustic steel string guitar rather than a classical guitar since there are multiple tunes that utilize the fretting hand thumb over the top.  You will need a slide for the final section, but you can use it with your normal guitar. Published by Mel Bay Publications.  © 1992 eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook. Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms.

Mel Bay Publications, Inc. operates as a music education books publishing company. The Company specializes in books for learning guitar, mandolin, banjo, flute, jazz, tinwhistle, mel mbi, dulcimer, guitar lesson, music books, and flamenco. A complete catalog is available at melbay.com. This is lesson no. two. Mel Bay Publications, Inc Sheet Music Mel Bay represents the best in music education and instruction along with great classical, jazz, Celtic music and more for all instruments. Renowned for guitar pedagogy, Mel Bay himself founded the company in 1947 with The Orchestral Chord System for Guitar, and after years of promoting his guitar books claimed to have known virtually every guitar teacher in America on a first name basis! Today, sales of Mel's Modern Guitar Method series are estimated to be well in excess of 20 million copies and established the structure for modern guitar education. Soundtrack in this video is by Otis McDonald from the YouTube Audio Library. Song title: See You Soon. Thank you for watching.

Joe Deninzon & musical friends Rachel Flowers (flute, piano) and Alex Skolnick (guitar) perform Chick Corea's “Spain” on the upcoming Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius' Box Set—double CD & Blu-Ray “Behind the Curtain: Live From ProgStock.” at this link:  https://youtu.be/t6JPN4FELKc   Joe Deninzon has been hailed by critics as “The Jimi Hendrix of the Violin,” because of his innovative style on seven-string electric violin. Joe has worked with The Who, 50 Cent, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Phoebe Snow, Everclear, Ritchie Blackmore, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Robert Bonfiglio, Les Paul, and as a soloist with the NY City Ballet and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Joe is the lead singer and electric violinist for the progressive rock band, Stratospheerius, which has released five critically acclaimed CD's. A BMI Jazz Composer's grant recipient and winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, he has written over 200 string quartets, solo pieces for violinist Rachel Barton Pine, and sits on the Board of Advisors for Composer's Now. In 2015, Joe premiered his “Concerto for Seven String Electric Violin and Orchestra” with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Douglas Droste. His original music has been featured on CMT, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, National Geographic, the Travel Channel, the History Channel, and the Will Ferrell/ Adam McKay- produced film “Virginity Hit.” Joe is also a member of the Sweet Plantain String Quartet, which combines Latin Jazz with hip-hop and Classical music, and has toured throughout Europe and the U.S. Joe has also released a CD with his Acoustic Jazz Trio, titled “Exuberance.” As an educator, Joe is a faculty member at the New Jersey City University Multi-Style strings program. He has taught at Mark O'Connor's String Camp and Mark Wood's Rock Orchestra Camp, and made repeated appearances performing at the Grand Canyon Music Festival, where he co-founded the Grand Canyon School of Rock in 2006, an annual program for local high school students. He regularly travels as a clinician and has contributed articles to Strings, Downbeat, and Making Music Magazine. In 2012, Joe wrote a book on electric violin techniques for Mel Bay Publications, entitled Plugging In. Joe has made the Downbeat Critic's pole for jazz/rock violin, and Chris Haigh's book, Discovering Rock Violin lists one of Joe's recorded solos among the “Top 20 greatest rock violin solos of all time.” Joe holds Bachelor's degrees in Violin Performance and Jazz Violin from Indiana University and a Master's in Jazz/Commercial violin from Manhattan School of Music.

Episode Notes Adam and Tim bring classical guitar performer, teacher, composer, arranger, hustler....Stephen Aron to the show. We have learned so much from Steve, and continue to. Steve's Bio: Described by the New York Times as “cultivated and musical,” Stephen Aron performs regularly throughout the US, Canada and Europe. An active composer and arranger, his work is published by Tuscany Editions (“wonderful guitaristic arrangement,” American Music Teacher), Mel Bay Publications (“historic,” Guitart) and Clear Note Publications (“a book to be ignored at your peril,” Classical Guitar). Clear Note also recently published several of Mr. Aron's original compositions (“imaginative, adventurous, effortlessly entertaining,” Classical Guitar). He has released thirteen publications, totaling nearly 600 pages of music. Aron's recordings have been described as “stunning” (Guitar Review), “superbly produced” (Soundboard), “warmly recommended” (Fanfare) and “inspired” (Classical Guitar). Notably, most of the works on his nine CD's are either original arrangements, original compositions, or premiere recordings of the works of others. His recordings and publications of thirty Lieder ohne Worte by Felix Mendelssohn and the complete Chopin Mazurkas, both for solo guitar, were industry firsts. Aron's most recent releases, One Fell Swoop and A Musical Congeries are collections of new original works for solo guitar. He is a dedicated chamber music advocate, and maintains a regular duo with his wife, soprano JoNell Aron, and another with flutist Jane Berkner. He plays frequently with mixed chamber ensembles both traditional and new music. Aron has adjudicated numerous national and international competitions and has been a repeat guest, giving performances, lectures and master classes at Guitar Foundation of America Conventions, Stetson Guitar Workshops, Portland Guitar Festivals, Eastman Guitar Festivals, Rantucci Guitar Festivals, Alexandria Guitar Festivals, the National Summer Guitar Workshops, the Eastern Carolina University Guitar Festivals, the Sauble Beach Guitar Festivals and the Appalachian Guitar Festivals as well as at the Yale Guitar Extravaganza, the Ithaca College Winter Guitar Festival, the Eastern Tennessee Guitar Festival, the Montreal Guitar Festival, the New York Guitar Seminar, the Miami International Guitar Festival, the Mediterranean Guitar Festival, the Scotland Classical Guitar Retreat, the TAMU Guitar Symposium and others. Recently, Aron has been a guest at guitar festivals in Iserlohn, Germany and Sorrento, Italy, and has appeared on recital series across Italy as well as in France and Denmark. Aron was Professor of Music at the University of Akron from 1981 until his retirement in 2015; he continues as Teacher of Classical Guitar and founder of the classical guitar studies program at Oberlin, where he joined the faculty in 1992. His blog, located here, is one of the most-read classical guitar resources on the web. Please check his website out for more information and access to blogs, recordings, books, lessons etc... at http://www.stephenaron.net Please Like, Subscribe, and Bell and all that to gt more of this kind of thing. So many great episodes to come. If you prefer audio only versions, you can find us on your favorite Podcast apps. https://pinecast.com/feed/woodairmetal https://pnc.st/s/woodairmetal Find out more at https://woodairmetal.pinecast.co

Steve Masakowski has long been regarded as one of the top Jazz artists from New Orleans. Born and raised in New Orleans, Steve Masakowski has played guitar with most of the city's greatest musicians including Alvin “Red” Tyler, Ellis Marsalis, Danny Barker, Earl Turbinton, and James Black. He has also performed with Grammy Award-winning artists Bobby McFerrin, Nicholas Payton, Allen Toussaint, Dianne Reeves and others at major festivals around the world.As a recording artist, he has released numerous CDs including two on the prestigious Blue Note Records label. He has been an active member of, and composer for the award winning New Orleans jazz group, Astral Project.He has twice been voted “Best Guitarist,” and won “Best Contemporary Jazz Group” three times by Gambit and Offbeat magazines in their annual reader's polls. He has published lessons in Guitar Player magazine and authored the book, "Jazz Ear Training – Learning to Hear Your Way Through Music" for Mel Bay Publications. He is frequently recognized by Down Beat magazine as Talent Deserving Wider Recognition. Steve has participated in numerous Jazz concerts and workshops at major universities including Princeton, the University of Chicago, and the University on Indiana. Steve is currently on the faculty at the University of New Orleans where he holds the position of Coca-Cola Endowed Chair of Jazz Studies.★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Our podcast interview today features Bill Bay of Mel Bay Publications.  The focus of our April 2021 issue is “Learning How to Play” and most people who have learned how to play a bluegrass instrument have, at some point in time, learned from a Mel Bay Publications book or video.  Today we talk with Bill about how the company started, how it developed to fit the needs of bluegrass players, where it is today and plans for the future.

John T. La Barbera- guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer-arranger, educator and author, born in New York City. As a pioneer of the music that shaped the first Italian folk revival in Italy in the early 1970s. (he was an active member working with the Pugliese folk group Pupi e Fresedde), John learned the music by oral tradition while touring with the group's theatrical and musical productions throughout Europe and in 1978, recorded the album, La Terra Del Rimorso, presenting the pizzica-tarantella music of the Salento region in Southern Italy. He continued to do extensive research in Southern Italian music and traditions and in returning to NYC in 1979, kept traditional Southern Italian music alive by co-founding the Italian folk music and theater company, I Giullari di Piazza, together with Alessandra Belloni, vocalist, frame drummer and actress. The group became Artists-in Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC and at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, in Katonah New York. He was awarded in 2005 for the extraordinary role of the transmission and translation of Italian oral traditions from The Italian Oral History Institute, and recognized as one of the first transcribers of Southern Italian folk music in America. In 2016 he received the John and Mary Esposito Fellowship Award in Italian American Culture and History from UMass at Dartmouth.  He is the author of the first and foremost book published in the U.S. on the Italian mandolin called Traditional Southern Italian Mandolin and Fiddle Tunes (2009) and Italian Folk Music For Mandolin (2012), with Mel Bay Publications. As a composer, La Barbera received numerous awards and commissions. Film scores include: Academy Award nominated documentary Children of Fate; Finding The Mother Lode: Italian Immigrants in California; Sacco and Vanzetti; Pane Amaro; Neapolitan Heart; La Festa; and Tarantella. Silent film scores: La Barbera premiered new scores to Chaplin’s The Immigrant at the Cineteca del Gemona di Friuli and Assunta Spina at the 37th Annual Pordenone Silent Film Festival in 2018 and most recently scored the Neapolitan film ‘A Santanotte and Chaplin’s The Adventurer.  Theatrical scores: composer-musical director of off-Broadway productions of Souls of Naples, (Theater for a New Audience) starring John Turturro and the stage adaptation of Sicilian playwright Luigi Pirandello's short stories in Kaos, (New York Theater Workshop) directed by Marta Clarke. His percussion music has been performed and recorded by the Ethos Percussion group and Grammy Award winning percussionist Joseph Gramley. Published works include: The Marimbaba Suite- for percussion quartet and Danza del Fuego for solo marimba, both published with Bachovich Music Publications; and “That’s Not Italian Music” from Oral History, Oral Culture, and Italian Americans, Palgrave-MacMillan, 2009.  Composer of original folk operas for I Giullari di Piazza: Stabat Mater: Donna di Paradiso; The Voyage of the Black Madonna; The Dance Of The Ancient Spider; La Lupa-The She-Wolf; The Adventures Of Don Giovanni And His Servant Pulcinella.  He conducts workshops and lectures on mandolin and acoustic guitar styles, ethnomusicology, world music, and has written for Acoustic Guitar magazine. His music has been recorded on Shanachie records, Meadowlark, Rounder Records, Lyrichord Disks, Ellipsis Arts, and Bribie records.  For more info visit John’s web sites at: www.johntlabarbera.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/antoinette-lavecchia/support

Frank Vignola, and Anita Camarella & Davide Facchini talk about their guitar lessons available on TrueFire, perform, and answer questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.About Frank:Frank Vignola is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world's top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Wynton Marsalis, Tommy Emmanuel, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his "Five Most Admired Guitarists List" for the Wall Street Journal. Vignola's jaw dropping technique explains why the New York Times deemed him "one of the brightest stars of the guitar".Frank Vignola has become one of the most popular and sought after guitarists on the international music scene. His dynamic genre-spanning music has brought him to 14 countries on three continents - and still growing - performing in some of the worlds most illustrious venues, including the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Carnegie Hall, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, New Yorks Lincoln Center and the worlds oldest indoor concert hall, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy.Vignola has also dedicated the last 25 years of his professional career to teaching jazz guitar starting with his assignment to found a jazz guitar department at Arizona State University in the years 1996/97. In the years following, he wrote over 20 books for Mel Bay Publications. In 2007, Vignola recorded his first course for Truefire.com, "Vamps, Jams and Improv". Since then, he has recorded over 30 courses and together, they have developed an online jazz studio which houses over 1000 unique teaching videos based on subscribers questions and requests. The Frank Vignola "Jazz Studio" channel is also home to the unique "Jazz Song Learning System", a 6 part song learning system. Currently, Vignola dedicates most of his professional time to online teaching many students of all levels.About Anita & Davide:The Duo was founded in 2000: two exceptional musicians coming from different musical directions (Anita Camarella from early music and jazz and Davide Facchini from rock and blues) but united by their common passion and curiosity for different musical languages.Over the last 18 years Anita Camarella and Davide Facchini have been committed to researching, analysing and working-out songs from the Italian Swing era of the 30s and 40s: unforgettable lyrics and music telling of typical Italian life-experiences and anecdotes of that time.Their passion for this music culminated in two recordings: Quei motivetti che ci piaccion tanto! (2002) and their new album La famiglia canterina (2013) that was honored with the LadyLake Indie Music Awards Best Album 2013 U.S.A.Their music reflects the influences of swing and jazz, as well as their own fresh and original guitar and a-capella compositions.This talented couple can already look back on many years of international concerts, including prestigious festivals and exhibitions in Italy, Europe, United States and Russia their aim being to share and make known to the world this important aspect of Italian cultural history.Radio stations in United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Tunisia, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Hungary, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Italy have broadcasted their music.Anita Camarella and Davide Facchini have performed in some of the most important and renowned concert halls (e.g. Nashvilles Ryman Auditorium), alongside some of the most famous artists on the international guitar scene (Tommy Emmanuel, Paul Franklin, Stephen Bennett, Muriel Anderson, Carl Verheyen, Thom Bresh, Buster B. Jones, and many others).

Frank Vignola talks about his Jazz Soloing Fakebook guitar lessons available on TrueFire, performs, and answers questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.About Frank:Frank Vignola is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world's top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Wynton Marsalis, Tommy Emmanuel, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his "Five Most Admired Guitarists List" for the Wall Street Journal. Vignola's jaw dropping technique explains why the New York Times deemed him "one of the brightest stars of the guitar".Frank Vignola has become one of the most popular and sought after guitarists on the international music scene. His dynamic genre-spanning music has brought him to 14 countries on three continents - and still growing - performing in some of the worlds most illustrious venues, including the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Carnegie Hall, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, New Yorks Lincoln Center and the worlds oldest indoor concert hall, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy.Vignola has also dedicated the last 25 years of his professional career to teaching jazz guitar starting with his assignment to found a jazz guitar department at Arizona State University in the years 1996/97. In the years following, he wrote over 20 books for Mel Bay Publications. In 2007, Vignola recorded his first course for Truefire.com, "Vamps, Jams and Improv". Since then, he has recorded over 30 courses and together, they have developed an online jazz studio which houses over 1000 unique teaching videos based on subscribers questions and requests. The Frank Vignola "Jazz Studio" channel is also home to the unique "Jazz Song Learning System", a 6 part song learning system. Currently, Vignola dedicates most of his professional time to online teaching many students of all levels.

Frank Vignola talks about his jazz guitar lessons available on TrueFire, performs, and answers questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.About Frank:Frank Vignola is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world's top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Wynton Marsalis, Tommy Emmanuel, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his "Five Most Admired Guitarists List" for the Wall Street Journal. Vignola's jaw dropping technique explains why the New York Times deemed him "one of the brightest stars of the guitar".Frank Vignola has become one of the most popular and sought after guitarists on the international music scene. His dynamic genre-spanning music has brought him to 14 countries on three continents - and still growing - performing in some of the worlds most illustrious venues, including the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Carnegie Hall, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, New Yorks Lincoln Center and the worlds oldest indoor concert hall, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy.Vignola has also dedicated the last 25 years of his professional career to teaching jazz guitar starting with his assignment to found a jazz guitar department at Arizona State University in the years 1996/97. In the years following, he wrote over 20 books for Mel Bay Publications. In 2007, Vignola recorded his first course for Truefire.com, "Vamps, Jams and Improv". Since then, he has recorded over 30 courses and together, they have developed an online jazz studio which houses over 1000 unique teaching videos based on subscribers questions and requests. The Frank Vignola "Jazz Studio" channel is also home to the unique "Jazz Song Learning System", a 6 part song learning system. Currently, Vignola dedicates most of his professional time to online teaching many students of all levels.

Ep. 111: Joe Deninzon, violinist. “The Jimi Hendrix of the Violin” Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Joe Deninzon has been hailed by critics as “The Jimi Hendrix of the Violin,” because of his innovative style on electric seven-string violin. Joe has worked with Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Phoebe Snow, Everclear, Ritchie Blackmore,, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Robert Bonfiglio, Les Paul, and as a soloist with the NY City Ballet and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Joe is the lead singer and violinist for the progressive rock band, Stratospheerius, which has released five acclaimed CD’s. He can be heard on over a hundred CD’s and jingles as a violinist and string arranger. A BMI Jazz Composer’s grant recipient and winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, he has written a solo piece for violinist Rachel Barton Pine, which will be featured on her upcoming CD. In 2015, Joe premiered his “Concerto for Seven String Electric Violin and Orchestra” with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra. His original music has been featured on CMT, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, National Geographic, the Travel Channel, the History Channel, and the Will Ferrell/ Adam McKay- produced film “Virginity Hit.” Joe is also a member of the Sweet Plantain String Quartet, which combines Latin Jazz with hip-hop and Classical music, and has toured throughout Europe and the U.S. Joe has also released a CD with his Acoustic Jazz Trio, titled “Exuberance.” As an educator, Joe has taught rock violin at Mark O’Connor’s String Camp and Mark Wood’s Rock Orchestra Camp, and made repeated appearances performing at the Grand Canyon Music Festival, where he co-founded the Grand Canyon School of Rock in 2006, an annual program for local high school students. He regularly travels as a clinician and has contributed articles to Strings, Downbeat, and Making Music Magazine. In 2012, Joe wrote a book on electric violin techniques for Mel Bay Publications, entitled Plugging In. Joe recently made the Downbeat Critic’s pole for jazz/rock violin, and Chris Haigh’s recent book, Discovering Rock Violin lists one of Joe’s recorded solos among the “Top 20 greatest rock violin solos of all time.” Joe holds Bachelor’s degrees in Violin Performance and Jazz Violin from Indiana University and a Master’s in Jazz/Commercial violin from Manhattan School of Music. In this episode we talk about Joe's early start in classical music, journey to jazz and rock, online teaching, Frank Zappa, his Concerto for Seven String Electric Violin and much more! For more information about Joe Deninzon please visit: https://joedeninzon.com © Let's Talk Off The Podium, 2020

Hailed as one of today’s most loved composers for classical guitar and a performer of international stature, Andrew York blends the styles of ancient eras with modern musical directions, creating music that is at once vital, multi-leveled and accessible.York is a GRAMMY-award nominee and winner, earning that accolade during his tenure as a member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.His compositions have been featured on GRAMMY-winning recordings by Jason Vieaux and Sharon Isbin along with recordings by other legendary guitarists such as John Williams and Christopher Parkening.He’s released albums on Sony-U.S., Sony-Japan, King Records (Japan), Telarc, GSP and Delos labels, as well as inclusion on Rhino Records “Legends of Guitar” and numerous other compilations.His authenticity has inspired a worldwide following, with his touring schedule spanning more than thirty countries including Rome, Lima, Beijing, Ankara, Munich, Manhattan, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Japan.Generations of younger guitarists have made Andrew’s music a staple of their repertoire in their performances and studies. His works appear in print worldwide through Majian Music, Alfred Publications, Hal Leonard, Mel Bay Publications, Guitar Solo Publications, Doberman-Yppan in Canada, Ricordi in London, and Gendai in Japan.His extensive background as a jazz and even rock guitarist has allowed him to cross over stylistic boundaries with an unusual authority.Andrew has recently launched a new guitar lesson series called Andrew’s Den. We talk about this new venture along with his history, creativity, his love of mathematics and the impact it’s had on his musicianship and compositions, and much more. It was an honor to speak with him and I hope you all enjoy.Featured tracks: RideEquations of Beauty: 1 and 4Homewww.andrewyork.netwww.andrewsden.com

Marc Ensign is the Big Cheese at LoudMouse, a personal branding agency for speakers, authors, coaches, entrepreneurs and artists.  A musician by training, Marc dreamed of performing on Broadway. He created a strong personal “brand,” wrote articles for music industry magazines, interviewed and forged relationships with a lot of performers. As a skilled bass player, Marc eventually “got the Broadway gig,” not by touting his amazing bass playing, but by promoting his ability to imitate a wide variety of styles. Supporting, rather than competing against, other professional musicians, Marc substituted for regular Broadway show band members who, for whatever reason, needed “a night off.” His full time Broadway career ended up lasting 10 years. In 2001/2002, while working as a musician in the evenings, Marc dabbled in web design during the day. A big and lucrative assignment from American Express's Travel + Leisure Magazine turned Marc's “pajamas as business casual” web design company into a marketing agency – overnight. A decade later, he felt lost. Marc had no education in marketing, but he had a passion for it –and, in particular, for figuring out the one impossible dream a person had – and creating a marketing message and strategy to achieve it – building, for each of his clients, a “personal brand” to get them to their “Broadway.” A couple of years ago, he started LoudMouse with a mission: To change the world by empowering those who want to change the world. Marc was a breakout speaker at Hubspot's Inbound 2019 and talked about “Standing Out and Start Getting Paid: How to Build a Personal Brand They Can't Ignore.” In this interview, Marc outlines three elements for building a successful personal brand. Identity. Be clear on who you are. Communicate “who you are” in a way that really connects with people in an authentic way. Visibility. Be able to communicate the message of “who you are” with visual elements: Your font/color/ logo/ website/ social media platforms/ pictures/ headshots. These elements have to be congruent with each other – and consistent. Authority. Are you positioned as an industry expert/leader/podcaster interviewee? When people `think of your industry, regardless of size, do people think of you? Did you write the book on the most important thing or a new groundbreaking innovation? Marc authored The Groove Book: A Study in Musical Styles for Bass (2011) and Slappin': A Complete Study of Slap Technique for Bass: A Complete Study of Slap Technique for Bass (2015), both under the Mel Bay Publications imprint. He is still building his brand as a musician, while using his agency to help “small” people leverage their brands to have “big voices.” Marc can be reached on his company's website at: https://loudmouse.com/, on his personal website at: https://marcensign.com/, and on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcensign/.

After visiting Leisner in Manhattan, David had a chance to sit down and speak with the Armenian guitarist Gohar Vardanyan. Vardanyan studied with Isbin and Barrueco before embarking on her international career, concertizing throughout the US, Mexico, Panama, Italy, Canada, and Argentina. In today's conversation, Gohar spoke about her (4!) books released by Mel Bay Publications, her current program, and how she tours with only a guitar and a backpack! Intro Music: Couperin Les Sylvains (Scott Tennant) La Vida Breva (de Falla) Cordoba (Albeniz)

Known for his modern approach to jazz, technical mastery on the kit and high aptitude for rhythm and independence, Steve Lyman is emerging as one of the leading voices on the drums around the globe. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, Lyman moved to New York City in 2005 to study at the prestigious New School University. Lyman quickly began working with some of New York's finest musicians under the tutelage of his teacher and mentor, drummer Ari Hoenig. Lyman's first major opportunity was performing with vocalist José James (with whom Lyman was an active member from 2006-2008) performing on Mr. James's critically acclaimed album The Dreamer, which was voted #21 of the top 50 albums in 2008 (JazzTimes Magazine). As a performer, Lyman has enjoyed sharing the stage with some of the leading voices in jazz and contemporary music, including: Aaron Parks, Jon Batiste, Gilad Hekselman, Nir Felder, Julian Pollack, Chase Baird, José James, Ben van Gelder, Ben Street, Bill McHenry, George Garzone, Ralph Alessi, Logan Richardson, Jaleel Shaw, Thomas Morgan, Tyshawn Sorey, Madeline Eastman, Joe Martin, Dan Tepfer, Becca Stevens, Kris Johnson and Corey Christiansen to name a few. Lyman has also toured the world extensively as a performer. In Europe, Lyman has performed throughout the UK, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, playing such venues as the BBC Studios London, The Blue Note Milan, and the New Morning Paris. In the United States, Lyman has performed at the renown Blue Note and Smalls jazz clubs regularly, both as a sideman and as a leader. As an educator, Lyman has led workshops and masterclasses throughout the US and is becoming a first-call international clinician. In 2018 Lyman led his first ever drum clinic tour in the UK—teaching to hundreds of drummers around the regions of London, Wales, Bristol and at Universities and music festivals throughout the greater UK. Upcoming clinics include: Argentina, Singapore as well as returning to the UK in 2020. Lyman released his debut record Revolver in 2013 which featured all original compositions and received 5 Stars from All About Jazz Magazine. Lyman is also the author of the book A New Approach to Odd-Times for Drumset published by Mel Bay Publications (2013). In 2019 Steve will be filming on online lesson for Drumeo and touring the US and EU with saxophonist Chase Baird. Endorsements: Craviotto Drum Company Drums, Istanbul Mehmet Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, Polynome Metronome App and Reflexx Practice Pads. Steve Lyman also serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Jazz Drumset Studies at the University of Utah and lives in Salt Lake City. https://www.stevelymandrums.com/

My guest today is the phenomenal classical guitarist Gohar Vardanyan. I first met Gohar when I performed a split concert with her way back in 2010 in Sacramento. I, and I think everyone else in the room, was just floored by her performance. We’ve kept in touch over the years and I always planned on having her on the show, so I was excited to get to speak with her sooner than I expected.Widely admired for her technique, artistry, and passionate performances Gohar has performed throughout the United States and internationally performing for numerous guitar societies, universities, and arts organizations, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and guitar societies in Seattle, San Francisco, Houston, Miami, and New York City to name a few.She has appeared on National Public Radio in the United States and Radio Nacional in Argentina. Ms. Vardanyan has performed with the Juilliard Opera Center and as a soloist with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and Panama National Symphony Orchestra. She has also been a guest artist at International Guitar Festivals in Canada, Panama, Italy, and Mexico. She has been featured on the cover of Classical Guitar Magazine and Guitar International Magazine has described her as “the complete package,” “with musicality and emotional quality . . . that one would expect from someone much older than the young wunderkind. Not only is she able to draw you into her performances with engaging musical interpretations, but she has the technical facility that is required of any concert level guitarist.”Her playing has been described as “passionate,” “evocative,” and “virtuosic.”Gohar is also an avid teacher maintaining a private studio in New York City and frequently teaches master classes and guitar technique workshops during her concert travels. She is an author of four books from Mel Bay Publications with a fifth one of its way. And she has a very extensive list of instructional guitar videos on both her own channel and the Strings by Mail channel.She began studying the guitar in her native Armenia at the age of five under the careful guidance of her father. At the age of eight, she gave her first public performance and also appeared on Armenian National Television. She went on to study with Antigoni Goni at the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School. In 2001, Ms. Vardanyan studied with John Wunsch at the Interlochen Arts Academy. She was awarded the Young Artist’s Certificate from Interlochen Center for the Arts and the Harold Randolph Prize in performance from the Peabody Conservatory.Gohar holds a Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School where she studied with Sharon Isbin and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music where she studied with Manuel Barrueco. She is also an alumna of the Aspen Music Festival and School.In addition to these accolades, Gohar is sponsored by Strings by Mail and plays on Royal Classics Recital strings.I caught up with Gohar over Skype a couple weeks ago. She was very generous with her time and we were able to cover a lot of topics including how she got started with guitar, studying at prestigious schools, touring, booking and promoting as a first time performer, recording, teaching, and much more.

Martha Masters is an internationally acclaimed classical guitarist. She is currently on the guitar faculty of Loyola Marymount University and California State University Fullerton, and is president of the Guitar Foundation of America. She has five recordings on the Naxos and GSP labels, and has published books three books with Mel Bay Publications and Alfred Music.   I caught up with her at the Adelaide International Guitar Festival last week where she was a featured performer. In our chat we talk about her recent collaborations and her current work with GFA, please enjoy my conversation with Martha Masters.

For ten years up in New York he played bass in the Tony Award-winning Broadway show, “Rent.” He also recorded with Grammy Award-winning artist R. Kelly, along with others. He even had a successful writing career, having written instructional books for Mel Bay Publications and articles for Bass Player Magazine. He had graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in music performance. He has a book called, “Unbreakable: The Secret to Getting Anything and Everything You’ve Ever Wanted” and is also the host of a brand new podcast called, “Be A Dick.”

Bass legend Bunny Brunel has performed and recorded with a “who’s who” list of music industry giants. Notables include Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams , Jack Dejohnette, Al Jarreau, Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder, Stanley Clarke, Dizzy Gillespie, Ziggy Marley, Gloria Estefan, Larry Coryell, Al Dimeola, Mike Stern, Joe Farrell, Michel Polnareff and many, many more. Besides his work as a performer, he is equally at home in the roles of composer, arranger, producer and designer. As a soundtrack composer Bunny collaborated with Clint Eastwood in creating the main theme (Claudia’s theme) for the award winning film, “The Unforgiven.” He also worked on several TV shows, including the popular series “Highlander.”As a designer, Bunny created a line of electric bass guitars for ESP/LTD and a stunning new Electric Upright Bass. Taking an active interest in helping bass players, Brunel regularly gives seminars on his unique approach to the instrument. He has written several books available through Mel Bay Publications, Hal Leonard Publications as well as some instruction DVDs.

Bass legend Bunny Brunel has performed and recorded with a "who's who" list of music industry giants. Notables include Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams , Jack Dejohnette, Al Jarreau, Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder, Stanley Clarke, Dizzy Gillespie, Ziggy Marley, Gloria Estefan, Larry Coryell, Al Dimeola, Mike Stern, Joe Farrell, Michel Polnareff and many, many more. Besides his work as a performer, he is equally at home in the roles of composer, arranger, producer and designer. As a soundtrack composer Bunny collaborated with Clint Eastwood in creating the main theme (Claudia's theme) for the award winning film, "The Unforgiven." He also worked on several TV shows, including the popular series "Highlander."As a designer, Bunny created a line of electric bass guitars for Carvin and a stunning new Electric Upright Bass. Taking an active interest in helping bass players, Brunel regularly gives seminars on his unique approach to the instrument. He has written several books available through Mel Bay Publications, Hal Leonard Publications as well as some instruction DVDs.