Piano Improvisation Skills Can Be Learnt

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Everything You Need To Start and Operate a Record Digital Label

Anyone with a talent for music - particularly writing and recording songs - is now sitting on a potential gold mine.

What would have been unthinkable just a few short years back – is now not only possible, it’s being done with enormous success by individuals across the globe. What am I talking about? A digital record label.

Before I discuss the advantages of running your own digital label - I'd like you to imagine what it would have been like starting a physical label just ten years ago. A minimum investment of $350,000 would have been needed. This would have enabled you to rent an office sufficient to hold yourself plus a secretary, an a&r manager, a talent scout, a plugger/ promoter, and a receptionist. You would also need a copyright and royalty manager.

Your next task would have been to acquire good commercial recordings - with emphasis being on the word "commercial". Finding recordings was one thing, (as is the case today), finding good commercial product is something else. Unless you were able to acquire ready made masters under license from a third party, you would have had to pay for your artists to record the masters yourself. In addition to hiring a recording studio, you would also have had to pay a producer - plus a recording engineer (although the engineer's costs were usually included with the studio hire) - thus eating further into your $350,000 budget.

Assuming your product proved to be commercial (after heavy promotional costs), and sales from your first album had started to feed back from around the world. Eighty percent of your income would have been taken up in overheads through royalty payments to the artist, producer and the music publisher (mechanical license). Then, there would have been your general overheads: salaries, expenses, office rent and so on.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Before selling any records you would have needed a reliable manufacturer and a distributor to create and disperse your cds, (and maybe some dvds to promote the records), to the shops.

Getting a distributor in the first place was one of the most difficult things for any new record label. Ever watchful of stores and outlets unwilling to give shelf space to unheard artists, (i.e. artists yet to achieve a playlist position on radio), many would refuse to get involved with a new untried label. Not surprising when, given the choice, retailers could choose from any of the big selling artists such as Nickelback, Beyonce, Pussycat Dolls, Justin Timberlake, James Blunt etc against the poor new artist. So, you with your new label and new artists, would be forced to plough more money to promote your record, in the hope of getting on the playlist – in the hope of securing that elusive distribution deal. At this stage you would be wondering why you had started a label in the first place.

So, what enormous monstrosity of a thing happened in the music industry to change the old physical method of selling records? Enter, the golden dawn of digital music. Now, suddenly every artist, songwriter, producer, engineer and, even manager who once had a notion of starting his/her own physical label but didn't have a $350,000 budget - is able to start and operate his/her own digital label for about the price of a new laptop.

For the first time - individuals have a great opportunity of developing their own label from zero up - and making a very healthy living. Unlike the older physical system of starting and operating a label - with all the huge overheads - the digital label operator can start a catalog and operate it at his own pace without the need to employ several individuals. You can start with as little as two tracks - and build a catalog at your own pace - concentrating on your niche in the music industry, testing and probing the markets as you go along. Compare that to a physical label spending wads of money hoping their records chart. Failure to chart would often spell disaster for many a physical independent and domestic label - leaving only the majors to compete. Not so for a digital label. If a particular recording isn't selling over a period of time - you simply delete the product from your site. Updating your catalog can be done in minutes. Some digital labels regularly update their catalogues every few days.

If you're not an artist yourself - but someone who is drawn to a special style or genre - or just someone interested in music in general - here's what you can do to start your digital label: Firstly, you'll need a good web host. Basic as this sounds, some people go with an outfit they think is good - then, six months later they vanish into cyber space - leaving you and your site high and dry. So, please do homework before opening a web host account. I recommend you check for independent reviews on hosts you're thinking of going with. Once your web host is confirmed, you should get a confirmation email from your host confirming your space is ready so that you can move forward and publish your site.

Some people are very creative and skillful in being able to create their own web site. Others, like me, are not. I was contemplating having someone design my web site for me when, by chance, I came across a web design system called Xsitepro, but there are many to choose from. As with the web host, look for independent reviews before making a decision.

Next, make sure you have an up to date digital contract - one you can offer artists (or the owner of the masters). If you're not an artist yourself, you can enter into a license deal with any artist or production company willing to have you promotes and sell his/her product. By knowing a particular field or style of music well, will help you no end build your catalog faster than if you're someone learning as he/she goes along. However, enthusiasm will go along way. What you need to do when you start off is to ask yourself this question - "Why would an artist license his/her rights to me and not someone else?"

Firstly, to have an artist (or production company) freely license his rights to you - you need to convince him/her that you have a powerful distribution system. Unlike physical labels, with a web site, you have the ability to create your own "built in distribution system". Having a digital distribution account is an excellent idea - but you will still need to promote your product if you want to draw large numbers to your site. In my view, a newsletter, blog or e-zine, is the one of the best ways of drawing a high reading audience. Ten thousand plus is a good target to work toward. This will help you pick up more recordings from artists looking for a site attracting thousands of hits - assuming of course artist's genre works well with your label. There are some excellent publishers, blogs and newsletters hungry for good topical articles, presenting you with another outlet. Keep your articles fresh and original, and your audience will grow steadily with each article.

Since distribution is the key to your success - this is where you need to concentrate if you want your label to expand and prosper. Obviously, if your newsletter or e-zine readership is increasing, it's because people are enjoying the articles and information you're publishing - and more people will want to buy your product. A healthy situation all round.

Now, a note on your digital agreement, you can use a contract repeatedly for different artists. I would recommend you acquire rights non-exclusively. Keep in mind that a contract may need to be updated from time to time as new copyright laws come into effect to deal with technological changes. As a rule of thumb you can check back every six months to see if your contract needs updating.

Next, ensure you have a terms and conditions policy on your site. Anyone starting off a digital label, should have a general list of conditions, setting out criteria for accepting product online, together with a privacy policy.

Next, you'll need a strong accounting system. No matter how effective you are selling product online - if you're not accounting to your artists accurately and to the letter of your contract - you're dead in the water. In my view there is nothing worse than a company with a bad reputation for paying royalties. For me, trust and reputation is everything.

Work closely and be up front with the artists who put their faith and trust in you. Your good reputation and name will spread.

Since 1997, Songsalive! is the largest international non-profit membership organization dedicated to the nurturing, support, promotion and education of songwriters and composers worldwide.

Founded in 1997, by songwriters Gilli Moon and Roxanne Kiely in Sydney, Australia   Songsalive! is run by volunteer songwriters for songwriters and has reached the far corners of the globe with over 25 chapters worldwide (International head office in Los Angeles, CA, USA) We provide a "home", a family, for songwriters and composers through our programs, resources, community and support, all focused on the art and business of songwriting. It acts as an epicentre, a heart of the international songwriting community and music markets, bridging the gaps, tapping songwriters into the pulse of the business and at the same time giving them and their music the support they deserve. Through Songsalive!, songs and songwriters can be accessed by the whole world and when the hunt is on, Songsalive! is a one-stop song shop! Songsalive.org

Have you ever wondered why some piano players can improvise songs so easily and play a song in their own style without any music sheets or even if there are music scores, they are able to add intricate melodic notes and chords of their own to brighten up the song effortlessly and uniquely?

If you have never or don't know how to experience the fun and the heavenly pleasure of improvising on the piano, then you are missing out the ultimate thrill as a pianist. If you can't improvise, then aren't you just like an artist who cannot paint without copying somebody else's work? How much creative joy you can derive from that?

That being the case, then why is it that so many pianists are unable to improvise songs they are playing? The answer is actually very simple as this is the result caused by years of rigid piano lessons on structures and lack of guidance on how to improvise and an unwillingness to be adventurous in case they sound bad. Are you one of them? If so, now you know why you can play improvisations.

For example, if you started learning how to play classical piano and if you are classically trained, you will know that there are a lot of rules, structure and rigidity in classical piano lessons. As a boy way back then, my piano teacher would slap me on the wrist with a wooden ruler when I played out of those structures and rules. Often times I would cry my eyes out and I hated my piano lessons.

Sometimes when my lessons ended and when my teacher was waiting for the next student, I started to play and experiment with tunes which I heard over the radio and TV. At first, my teacher was aghast and scolded me because she thought that if I were to continue doing that, I would have undone all the rules and principles of "playing the piano the right and proper way" the way she had taught me.

However, as time went by and as she watched me improvised pop songs, attempts to play jazz piano and even dared to improvise classical pieces with a rock feel, her curiosity peaked and asked me one day whether I had another teacher who taught me how to improvise on the piano.

I said no, she was my only teacher. Then she asked me how on earth can I play all those songs without any music scores and I said I did'nt know.

Then one day a bombshell exploded when she asked me if I could teach her to play play pop songs? Finally she realized that there are more ways to play the piano and her mind started to open up to accept new things and traditional rigidity and rules flew out of the window.

I am not saying that rules and traditional structures are no good. In fact they are because they are the cornerstone foundation of which you can move beyond to discover new things, new borders and then pushing the borders to new horizons. I mean, the hills are alive with the sound of music, isn't it?

Years later, when I became a more proficient pianist, I realized that what I did was a natural progression of playing the piano well. It is not a matter of being able play the piano by ear, but the willingness to venture into new territories and to explore new boundaries.

There are many great musicians in the world who are self taught and have never taken any music lessons notwithstanding which musical instruments they are good at. How do they get to be that good? If you say they have got the talent and you don't, then you will never learn how to play your own improvisations because you have already given up. Talent is only half of the story. The rest is your willingness to try and to change your mindset.

Many people equate the skill of improvisation with the skill of playing piano by ear. Well, they may be related but both sets of skills are different and they can be learnt!

Many pianists rely on music scores to be able to play the piano. Then it bears to repeat that isn't that akin to an artist copying another's work of art? I won't say that you are infringing copyright because you have paid for the copyrighted music sheets but you will never create something unique of your own style, of your own feel and a piece of music uniquely you, even though you may be playing a song written by somebody else.

Improvisation is an exhilarating and thrilling process. If you disregard it or worse, think that you can't improvise, then you will never know the rapturous joy of creative improvisation. If you cannot improvise, you probably will never be able to write your own songs to play on the piano as well.

Traditional piano lessons emphasize on the ability to read notes. Sight reading is of course one of the most fundamental skills a pianist can possess. However, emphasis on the rigidity of reading scores has created many piano players who can only the play piano by reading notes. You want to be a versatile pianist, don't you?

So go on, have fun. Start experimenting. Play a song the way you want it to feel and to sound. If you can't get the sound or the chords that you want, try again, and again, then again and soon, you will be a master of improvisation on the piano. Rome wasn't built in one day, isn't it? But it can be built, so too piano improvisation can be learnt. The question is, are you willing to be a better pianist and improvise your own unique style on the piano to your appreciative audience?

More free articles by Chris Chew at Composing And Songwriting Tips and Be A Good Singer Singing Lessons