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Many indie labels skip this step, at least initially, but it is a good idea to have your record label set-up as a legal business entity from the start. You will need to be an actual, legal business if you want a business bank account or credit card, and it certainly makes tax time a lot more manageable. Likewise, if you are applying for business loans or other kinds of funding, you will need to be a legal business.
The names and specifics of various business frameworks differ from country to country, state to state and city to city (for example, sole proprietorship, LLC, Corporation, etc). You will need to spend a few hours with your computer or at the library to learn about the law in your area and to print up the forms you need to set up your company. There are a few general guidelines to keep in mind that apply everywhere:
- If you are starting the label with other partners, you will need a partnership agreement that details the percentage of ownership each partner has, how each partner can leave the business, how decisions will be made in the partnership and so on. Depending on where you live, the laws associated with your business structure may dictate your partnership agreement, or you may need to devise a separate agreement.
- For most indie labels, the best business structure is one that is simple and that protects the partners from personal liability should something go wrong in the business.
This is also the time to figure out how the company will operate, such as who will be responsible for which tasks and how people will be paid. If there are issues not addressed in the paperwork to set up your business, then write up a separate contract detailing this info.
Of course, now is also the time for a label name. Do a little online research to make sure your name isn't already taken.
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A researcher at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) conducted the first study of hand-clapping songs, revealing a direct link between those activities and the development of important skills in children and young adults, including university students.
"We found that children in the first, second and third grades who sing these songs demonstrate skills absent in children who don't take part in similar activities," explains Dr. Idit Sulkin a member of BGU's Music Science Lab in the Department of the Arts. "We also found that children who spontaneously perform hand-clapping songs in the yard during recess have neater handwriting, write better and make fewer spelling errors."
Dr. Warren Brodsky, the music psychologist who supervised her doctoral dissertation, said Sulkin's findings lead to the presumption that "children who don't participate in such games may be more at risk for developmental learning problems like dyslexia and dyscalculia. There's no doubt such activities train the brain and influence development in other areas. The children's teachers also believe that social integration is better for these children than those who don't take part in these songs."
As part of the study, Sulkin went to several elementary school classrooms and engaged the children in either a board of education sanctioned music appreciation program or hand-clapping songs training -- each lasting a period of 10 weeks.
"Within a very short period of time, the children who until then hadn't taken part in such activities caught up in their cognitive abilities to those who did," she said. But this finding only surfaced for the group of children undergoing hand-clapping songs training. The result led Sulkin to conclude that hand-clapping songs should be made an integral part of education for children aged six to 10, for the purpose of motor and cognitive training.
During the study, "Impact of Hand-clapping Songs on Cognitive and Motor Tasks," Dr. Sulkin interviewed school and kindergarten teachers, visited their classrooms and joined the children in singing. Her original goal, as part of her thesis, was to figure out why children are fascinated by singing and clapping up until the end of third grade, when these pastimes are abruptly abandoned and replaced with sports.
"This fact explains a developmental process the children are going through," Dr. Sulkin observes. "The hand-clapping songs appear naturally in children's lives around the age of seven, and disappear around the age of 10. In this narrow window, these activities serve as a developmental platform to enhance children's needs -- emotional, sociological, physiological and cognitive. It's a transition stage that leads them to the next phases of growing up."
Sulkin says that no in-depth, long-term study has been conducted on the effects that hand-clapping songs have on children's motor and cognitive skills. However, the relationship between music and intellectual development in children has been studied extensively, prompting countless parents to obtain a "Baby Mozart" CD for their children.
This study also demonstrates that listening to 10 minutes of Mozart music (.i.e., the 'Mozart Effect') does not improve spatial task performance more than 10 minutes hand clapping songs training or 10 minutes exposure to silence.
Sulkin also found that hand-clapping song activity has a positive effect on adults: University students who filled out her questionnaires reported that after taking up such games, they became more focused and less tense. "These techniques are associated with childhood, and many adults treat them as a joke," she said. "But once they start clapping, they report feeling more alert and in a better mood."
Sulkin grew up in a musical home. Her father, Dr. Adi Sulkin, is a well-known music educator who, in the 1970s and 1980s, recorded and published over 50 cassettes and videos depicting Israeli children's play-songs, street-songs, holiday and seasonal songs, and singing games targeting academic skills.
"So quite apart from the research experience, working on this was like a second childhood," she noted.
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It's refreshing in an era of music bandwagon jumping that Sade has managed to glide through the last two decades seemingly untouched by anything resembling change. Their (and they are a band) sound has become synonymous with '80s sophistication and yet it's also strangely unique to them and them alone, elevated above most smooth R&B by Sade Adu's sumptuous vocals.
Given this context, it's not surprising that Soldier Of Love - only their sixth album in 25 years - doesn't mess with the formula too much. The excellent title track and first single is the only real curve ball, featuring a startlingly insistent drum pattern. Elsewhere, Babyfather is a dubby, near-reggae concoction that features some neat vocal interplay and shows what can happen when the band explore different horizons.
But if you're looking for stark experimentation then Sade aren't the band for you. With most acts this kind of militant denial of evolution would seem counter-productive. Yet somehow this hermetically sealed way of working suits them. Tracks like the gorgeous Morning Bird and the swirling In Another Time are as comforting as slipping on an old jumper.
As with all of their records, there's an obvious sense of hiding their light under a bushel. These are songs that can sashay straight past you if you're not careful, but producer Stuart Matthewman (whose work with Maxwell sounds equally poured over) slips in subtle moments such as the twinkling percussion on Morning Bird and the slow-burn backing on opener The Moon And The Sky. This unfussy backdrop allows Adu's voice to shine; to cloak it in anything more isn't really an option.
Whilst it's difficult to work up a sweat about Soldier Of Love - and there are stretches where the album fades into obscurity, the epitome of background music - it's a beautifully constructed album from an enduring band unafraid to mess with a sound that has influenced many. It's best to remember, however, that if you are disappointed with this then the next one isn't due for another 10 years. - Michael Cragg -
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Josh Groban is a rare commodity in the music business: a safe bet.
Classically trained, celestially voiced, the kind of sweet-faced, well-mannered, personable young man who probably gets hand-knit sweaters as gifts from fans in lieu of panties, Groban is virtually immune to the vagaries of pop-music trends.
His most recent album, the 2007 Christmas record "Noel," sold 5 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and topped the Billboard 200. All told, he has sold almost 20 million albums in the United States.
Because his material appeals to adults whose taste and preferences are stable, Groban can depend on their loyalty. No one would have batted an eye had he released another collection of holiday tracks every couple of years, toured theaters and arenas, dropped in again on Oprah and "Today" and "Glee," headlined public-TV pledge drives and generally reaped the quiet but lucrative rewards of mainstream, middle-of-the-road success.
Instead, Groban, 29, decided to make some drastic changes. He split from his former manager, Brian Avnet, and signed to Q Prime, known for managing guitar extremists Metallica and Muse. He also parted with longtime producer David Foster and teamed with Rick Rubin, the bearded Zen master behind the Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash and Danzig.
On his new record, "Illuminations," due November 15 on Reprise, Groban co-wrote more of the material than he ever had on previous albums, and also recorded a song by an unlikely favorite: goth-rock cult star Nick Cave.
The new partners are especially head-scratching given that Groban's music is possibly the most un-rock stuff out there. With a voice ranging between tenor and baritone, Groban draws more comparisons to Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli than Eddie Vedder or James Hetfield. It's easy to imagine him singing on the radio in the 1940s; his music, which nods to Broadway, opera and European pop, typically finds its truest expression in the kind of swelling, inspirational ballads that accompany first dances at weddings.
Moreover, Groban's older audience still buys physical albums: His breakthrough song, "You Raise Me Up," has sold a relatively modest 977,000 downloads, despite being covered by artists around the world and by "American Idol" contestants who want to bludgeon the judges with their range.
"I was in such a cozy position," Groban says of the period after "Noel" blew up and soundtracked family Christmas dinners across the world. "I had the No. 1-selling album of the year and I could have just kept doing that. But then I started to have an itch." (reu)
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Gregory Isaacs, the Jamaican reggae singer whose smooth style earned him the nickname "Cool Ruler," has died. He was 59.
Isaacs' manager, Copeland Forbes, said the singer died Monday at his London home. Isaacs had been diagnosed with lung cancer a year ago, but continued performing until weeks before his death.
His wife Linda said Isaacs was "well-loved by everyone, his fans and his family, and he worked really hard to make sure he delivered the music they loved and enjoyed."
Born in a Kingston, Jamaica slum in 1951, Isaacs began recording in his teens, and went on to produce scores of albums .
With his sinuous baritone and romantic songs, Isaacs became a leading proponent of the mellow "Lovers Rock" style of reggae. He hit his stride in the mid-1970s with ballads like "Love is Overdue" and "All I Have Is Love."
Later that decade he teamed up with the Jamaican production duo of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare for several hit songs including "Soon Forward" and "What A Feeling."
"Gregory's voice and writing ability was wicked. He was one of those soulful singers you could sit and listen to for hours," Dunbar said Monday.
Isaacs was best known internationally for the title song from his 1982 album "Night Nurse," a club favorite which later became a hit for Simply Red.
His career was stalled by a cocaine habit that landed him in jail on several occasions. Isaacs said ruefully in 2007 that he'd gone to "Cocaine High School ... the greatest college ever, but the most expensive school fee ever paid."
Drug abuse took a toll on his voice but he kept making music, releasing a well-received final album, "Brand New Me," in 2008.
Suggs, lead singer of reggae-influenced British band Madness, said the dapper, fedora-sporting Isaacs was "a great reggae artist and also one of the most sartorially elegant stars on the world stage." (AP)
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When you're as big a musician as Carlos Santana, you can get away with self-indulgent projects, like an album of covers, and enlist several of your rock star friends to provide the vocals. Santana, who has created some classics of his own - Black Magic Woman, Oye Come Va and more recently Smooth, the 1999 mega hit featuring Rob Thomas - pays homage to everyone's favorite air-guitar songs on his new album Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics Of All Time, and goes slightly overboard in the process.
This is essentially an album to showcase Santana's prowess on strings, and Guitar Heaven seems to rely entirely on meaty riffs to the detriment of the performances themselves. Yet it opens with some promise as Chris Cornell leads the way to Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love. Santana doesn't tamper with Jimmy Page's original notes and Cornell proves once again that he's one of the greatest voices in rock, delivering the lyrics with conviction and an intensity akin to that of Robert Plant.
Too bad then that the performances on the rest of the album are plain insipid. Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland's version of The Rolling Stones' Can't You Hear Me Knocking fails to deliver its vigour and Chris Daughtry's rendition of Def Lepperd's Photograph is like one of those covers you hear on popular TV talent shows. The Deep Purple classic Smoke On The Water, reinterpreted by Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach, is better left unheard, like AC/DC's Back In Black. It's hard to imagine anyone singing it with the same ferocity as Brian Johnson. Jay-Z often does a decent cover live, but here Nas fails in his effort to create a rap-rock fusion. Instead, it's a predictable mish-mash with a gratuitous rap and unnecessary female backing vocals.
The Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek should really stop whoring out Doors classics. He joins Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington for a bland performance of Riders On The Storm. Jim Morrison must be rolling in his grave - and that's to say nothing of Marc Bolan. Gavin Rossdale emerged from his wife Gwen Stefani's shadow long enough to record the T Rex hit Bang A Gong. Press stop and download The Power Station's 1985 cover instead, sung by Robert Palmer, with guitar work provided by Duran Duran's Andy Taylor, who simply nails it.
Soul star India.Arie and cellist Yo Yo Ma commit the most unforgivable crime of all. They massacre The Beatles masterpiece While My Guitar Gently Weeps by giving it a new age vibe, stripped of its bittersweet melancholy and offset by Santana's not-so-weeping guitar. In fact, his style borders on metal throughout the album, and the solos sound the same in every song. A bit of his famed Latin flair would have given them shape and panache. Granted, the point of a cover version isn't to re-record the exact same thing but to give it a twist. Yet there are very few twists and far lesser turns here.
Sadly, expert guitar playing cannot carry an album. Moreover, it is too sterile and obsessively arranged, and the majority of the vocals lack that rock fierceness. Everyone is playing it too safe, with the production geared towards something mainstream and pop-oriented rather than experimentation and reinterpretation. Only Rob Thomas, who owes Santana his international stardom, adds flavor to Cream's Sunshine Of Your Heart and Joe Cocker character to Little Wings, a decent cover of the Jimi Hendrix classic.
Guitar Heaven is Santana's idea of Rock Band and recorded simply because he can afford himself little luxuries. Here's to hoping that his next album of original material, set for release next spring, will be a little more hedonistic. (Talia Soghomonian)
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A Harvard-based study has found that children who study a musical instrument for at least three years outperform children with no instrumental training—not only in tests of auditory discrimination and finger dexterity (skills honed by the study of a musical instrument), but also on tests measuring verbal ability and visual pattern completion (skills not normally associated with music).
A total of 41 eight- to eleven-year-olds who had studied either piano or a string instrument for a minimum of three years were compared to 18 children who had no instrumental training. Children in both groups spent 30-40 minutes per week in general music classes at school, but those in the instrumental group also received private lessons learning an instrument (averaging 45 minutes per week) and spent additional time practicing at home.
While it is no surprise that the young musicians scored significantly higher than those in the control group on two skills closely related to their music training (auditory discrimination and finger dexterity), the more surprising result was that they also scored higher in two skills that appear unrelated to music—verbal ability (as measured by a vocabulary IQ test) and visual pattern completion (as measured by the Raven's Progressive Matrices). And furthermore, the longer and more intensely the child had studied his or her instrument, the better he or she scored on these tests.
Studying an instrument thus seems to bring benefits in areas beyond those that are specifically targeted by music instruction, but that is not the end of the story. Although this research sheds light on the question of whether connections between music and other, unrelated skills do exist, more studies examining the causal relationships between instrumental music training, practice intensity, and cognitive enhancements are needed.
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Cheryl Cole has confirmed that she is set to collaborate with Rihanna in 2011.
The X Factor judge and Girls Aloud singer told the Daily Mirror that the hook-up was "definitely" set to take place next year, although the details of the collaboration have not been revealed.
"I couldn't believe it when I heard Rihanna wanted to work with me," Cole said. "When I found out she wanted to collaborate, I got goosebumps all over. We're definitely doing something together next year."
She added: "I love that she's into tattoos, she's got one on her collar bone saying, 'Never a failure, always a lesson' – that's beautiful."
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The Walkman, the Sony cassette device that forever changed music listening before becoming outdated by digital MP3 players and iPods, has died. It was 31 years old. Sony announced Monday that it has ceased production of the classic, cassette tape Walkman in Japan, effectively sounding the death knell of the once iconic, now obsolete device.
The Walkman is survived by the Discman (still clinging to life) and ironic music listeners who think using a Walkman in this day-and-age is charmingly out-of-touch.
It will continue to be produced in China and distributed in the U.S., Europe and some Asian countries. Digital Walkmans are also being made with models that display lyrics and have improved digital noise-canceling technology.
Still, if you're looking to chisel a date in the Walkman's tombstone, then Oct. 25, 2010, is as good as any. For many, that it's taken this long is surprising: "They were still making those?" Perhaps Oct. 23, 2001, the day the iPod was launched, is the better date of expiration.
But none of the success of Apple's portable music players would have ever happened without the cassette Walkman. Some 220 million have been sold since the first model, the TPS-L2, debuted in July 1979. (It retailed for $200.) At the time, transistor radios were portable, but there was nothing widely available like the Walkman.
It was developed under the stewardship of Sony founders Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka. Morita insisted the device not be focused on recording but playback, a relatively odd notion at the time.
Originally called the "Soundabout" in the U.S., the Walkman was an immediate sensation and a revolution in music listening.
Foremost, it was portable. Music no longer needed to be something that one experienced sitting in a room, but could be blasted on the bus, pumped while jogging on a beach or played softly while studying.
By turning the volume up, anyone could be tuned out.
The detached teenager with foam earphones slouched in the back seat or bobbing his head in the elevator became an indelible image of the `80s. (The first Walkman did have an orange "hot line" button to lower the music and increase the microphone so you could hear someone talking to you.)
Music, previously listened to in a room with shag carpeting and a stereo, was cast into the world, made a part of daily life. Pink Floyd could join a walk in the park, Public Enemy could soundtrack a commute.
More than portability, it fostered a personalization to music, a theme the iPod would also highlight in those early dancing silhouette ads. A big reason there's so much nostalgia for the Walkman today is because it eliminated any separation from music. It felt like an appendage, which is perhaps why some (with questionable fashion instincts) clipped theirs to their belt.
The Walkman was also the father of the mixtape, an offspring that nearly trumps the progenitor. For the first time, music was something you could make yours by arranging it and swapping it.
For those young and unfamiliar with this process, making a mixtape typically entailed gathering songs by the Cure and Depeche Mode, labeling the tape with care and awkwardly giving it to a love interest in homeroom.
The Walkman didn't disappear so much as it was improved upon. Sony continues to use it as a brand, but the company long ago ceded hipness and style to Apple. The iPod will likely one day befall a similar fate, and another generation will gasp in joined wistfulness.
When it comes to music and how we hear it, we're all romantics.
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Michael Jackson's sudden death sparked an outpouring of grief around the world, but fans also opened their wallets to make him this year's top-earning dead celebrity with $275 million, Forbes said on Monday.
Jackson raked in more than the combined total of the other 12 celebrities on the list, Forbes magazine said. He was ranked third on last year's list with $90 million.
Elvis Presley came in second, earning $60 million from admissions to his former home, Graceland, which is now a museum and tourist attraction in Memphis, Tennessee, a Cirque de Soleil show and more than 200 licensing and merchandise deals.
"Jackson's spot atop our top earning dead celebrities list should come as no surprise given the renewed fan interest in music, videos and all things Michael Jackson," said Forbes writer Lacey Rose.
Jackson was 50 when he died in his Los Angeles home on June 25 last year, shortly before a planned series of comeback concerts in London. The singer left behind three children and a debt of $500 million.
But his estate has generated millions since his death, mostly through record sales, the "This Is It" concert movie, licensing rights, deals to release new albums and a Cirque du Soleil stage show in Las Vegas.
"Thanks to a lucrative catalog, hit film and album sales, the late king of pop earned more in the last year than Lady Gaga, Madonna and Jay-Z, combined," said Rose.
Jackson's physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, is awaiting trial on a charge that he is responsible for the singer's death by administering a powerful anesthetic to help him sleep.
STEINBRENNER, LARSSON NEWCOMERS
"The Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien, whose trilogy of novels was made into films by director Peter Jackson, came in at No. 3 on the Forbes list with earnings of $50 million, while Charles Schulz, the creator of Charlie Brown and Snoopy, came in fourth with $33 million.
Former Beatle John Lennon, who would have turned 70 this year, was ranked No. 5 with an income of $17 million.
"Many of the deceased icons on our list offer the marketing community name recognition, broad cultural appeal and, unlike their living counterparts, an indelible image that can't be damaged by a rehab stint or tabloid story," Rose said.
Presley, Tolkien, Schulz and Lennon all appeared on last year's list, which was topped by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent with $350 million after the sale of much of his estate. But Saint Laurent dropped off the list this year along with author Michael Crichton an artist Andy Warhol.
Along with Jackson, newcomers to this year's list included Yankees baseball team owner George Steinbrenner at No. 9 with $8 million, and Swedish author Stieg Larsson, who wrote the popular mystery Millennium Trilogy novels that began with "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," at No. 6 with $18 million.
A deceased celebrity needed to earn at least $5 million between October 1, 2009 and October 1, 2010 to make this year's list, Forbes said. The magazine spoke to agents, lawyers and other sources to estimate annual gross earnings.
The full list can be seen at www.forbes.com/deadcelebs.
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‘Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page’, a limited edition photographic autobiography from the Led Zeppelin guitarist, has sold out despite not being officially released yet.
The book – which cost £495 – is 512 pages long and features over 650 images of Page from throughout his career.
Selling out through pre-orders, the hefty book from Genesis Publications, is bound in leather and wrapped in silk and was compiled by Page himself, who also wrote the text.
A selection of pictures from the book, taken by photographers such as Kate Simon, Neal Preston, Ross Halfin and Pennie Smith will be on display on November 5-6 at Elms Lester Painting Rooms in Covent Garden, London. (NME)
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By his own admission, Jason Kay and his band Jamiroquai have been away for a long time. But four years after a hits collection completed his contractual obligations to Sony Music, which signed him in 1992, he's finally ready for his comeback.
Kay spent his hiatus training to become a helicopter pilot. It's the latest obsession for the self-confessed adrenaline junkie, along with a prized collection of automobiles at his 80-acre Buckinghamshire estate, located west of London.
But it hasn't all been thrill-seeking during the break. Kay applied the same rigor and passion to the recording of Jamiroquai's new album. "Rock Dust Light Star," which will be released worldwide outside of North America on November 1 on Mercury/Universal. Canada follows November 9, with a U.S. release date that's to be determined for 2011.
Recorded largely in his home studio, it's something of a back-to-basics affair, by his standards. In all, Kay spent almost two years and "half a million quid ($794,000)" making the album.
Two different singles will offer fans a preview of the album. Internationally, the fast-paced "White Knuckle Ride" -- featuring Kay showing off his piloting skills in the video -- started rolling out August 23, hitting No. 1 in Italy and also charting in the Netherlands and Switzerland.
"White Knuckle Ride" has been picking up specialist airplay in the United Kingdom, but the official single there is sun-kissed ballad "Blue Skies."
Jamiroquai has career album sales of 2.6 million in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and 4.4 million in the United Kingdom, according to the Official Charts Co. Hit singles included "Cosmic Girl" and the Grammy Award-winning "Virtual Insanity."
Once dubbed "the cat in the hat" -- he still wears a variety of elaborate headgear onstage -- Kay is also full of jittery enthusiasm about resuming touring, although he says things will be more "laid-back" than the hyperactive performances of old.
"At 40 years old you don't want to be doing stuff that you did when you were 19," he says. "You've got to grow with the music. Even I forget 'Cosmic Girl' was 13 years ago. A lot changes in that time." (BB)
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Do you want to start a record label? Many a label has been started by someone saying, "ok, I've got a record label!". In some ways, it really IS that easy. Some of the best labels have made it up as they've gone along. However, if you really want to give yourself the best chance of success, not to mention protecting your investment, going through a proper set-up process is important. This guide will walk you through getting your label up and running.
Before we jump in, though, let's make sure you've thought this whole label thing through. Running an indie record label is fun, but it takes a lot of commitment and a ton of money. It's critical you go into this with your eyes open. Here are a few things to consider:
*If you are starting a record label with the sole purpose of releasing your own music (see Should I Release My Album?), be aware that being both label owner and only artist on the roster brings some limitations. Even with the best intentions, your label runs the risk of coming across as a vanity project. That means that some distributors may be hesitant to work with you and some funding sources may hold off on investing in you. If you are planning to do promotion in-house, remember that it can be a little uncomfortable for everyone for you to be calling up journalists asking them when they think of your album. This isn't to say that you shouldn't start a label to release your own music. It just means you need to be aware that it brings along a few complications other labels don't face.
*You will almost certainly have to work on your label every day, even if you have a full time job. Do you have the time to invest in making the label work?
*However much you are budgeting for your label - it will cost more. Can you start a label and cover your bills?
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For over 15 years, scientists have been discussing alleged performance-enhancing effects of hearing classical music. Now, University of Vienna researchers Jakob Pietschnig, Martin Voracek and Anton K. Formann present quite definite results on this so-called "Mozart effect" in the US journal Intelligence. These new findings suggest no evidence for specific cognitive enhancements by mere listening to Mozart's music.
In 1993, in the journal Nature, University of California at Irvine psychologist Frances H. Rauscher and her associates reported findings of enhanced spatial task performance among college students after exposure to Mozart's music. Mozart's 1781 sonata for two pianos in D major (KV 448) supposedly enhanced students' cognitive abilities through mere listening. Scientific articles only rarely attract such public attention and excitement as was the case for Rauscher's publication: the New York Times wrote that listening to Mozart would give college-bound students an edge in the SAT. What is more, other commentators hailed Mozart music as a magic bullet to boost children's intelligence.
In the course of this hype, then Georgia governor Zell Miller even issued a bill in 1998, ensuring that every mother of a newborn would receive a complimentary classical music CD. In the same year, Florida's state government passed a law, requiring state-funded day-care centers to play at least one hour of classical music a day.
Debunking the myth
In the scientific community, however, Rauscher's finding was met with scepticism, as researchers around the world found it surprisingly hard to replicate. University of Vienna psychologists Jakob Pietschnig, Martin Voracek, and Anton K. Formann now report the findings of their meta-analysis of the "Mozart effect" in the US journal Intelligence.
Their comprehensive study of studies synthesizes the entirety of the scientific record on the topic. Retrieved for this systematic investigation were about 40 independent studies, published ones as well as a number of unpublished academic theses from the US and elsewhere, totalling more than 3000 participants.
The University of Vienna researchers' key finding is clear-cut: based on the cumulated evidence, there remains no support for gains in spatial ability specifically due to listening to Mozart music.
"I recommend listening to Mozart to everyone, but it will not meet expectations of boosting cognitive abilities," says Jakob Pietschnig, lead author of the study. A specific "Mozart effect," as suggested by Rauscher's 1993 publication in Nature, could not be confirmed. The meta-analysis from the University of Vienna exposes the "Mozart effect" as a legend, thus concurring with Emory University psychologist Scott E. Lilienfeld, who in his recent book "50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology" already ranked the "Mozart effect" number six.
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As Nelly Furtado prepares to survey the first decade of her recording career with the November 15 release of a hits package, the Canadian singer said she's "just over sort of halfway done" with her next studio album.
Tentatively titled "Lifestyle," the new album will be due out in 2011.
"I'm a little bit picky, so I'm kind of going through all kinds of material," Furtado told Billboard.com. "There's new material I'm writing and old material that's... very good and hasn't been re-approached."
Furtado predicted the set will be "eclectic" and influenced by the wide-ranging approach of her double-platinum 2000 debut, "Whoa, Nelly!," as well as the vocal work she did on her 2009 Spanish album "Mi Plan."
"I think that from singing the Spanish album I've learned a new confidence as a vocalist," Furtado explained. "And I think there's a little bit more of an alternative influence on this new album, kind of how my first album was definitely inspired and partially influenced by 'alternative' music."
Furtado has been recording primarily with Salaam Remi, who co-produced "Night is Young," the first single and one of three new tracks on forthcoming, "The Best of Nelly Furtado."
She also "experimented" with reggae with Stupid Genius and has worked with Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos.
The new album will also be Furtado's first to feature only English songs, she said.
The album is on hold right now, however, as Furtado focuses on "The Best of..." The disc will be released in a single-disc standard edition as well as a deluxe package that includes two CDs and a DVD; in addition to "Night is Young."
It also includes the unreleased songs "Stars" and "Girlfriend in the City," all of which were originally slated for the next album.
"I think it's a fun thing to celebrate," said Furtado, who will appear on the Latin Grammy Awards on November 11 in Las Vegas "I'm proud of the fact that ('Whoa, Nelly!') came out a full 10 years ago and you can still put it on and it sounds like something that's on the radio now.
"At the time we were just kind of making music we felt like listening to, which is what I've always done since." (reu)
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Struggling Liverpool has turned to Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson for a lift.
The Premier League soccer club says Dickinson piloted the team's plane to Napoli for Thursday's Europa League game against the Italian club. Dickinson is a licensed airline pilot.
The rocker told Liverpool's website that "Liverpool are an amazing club" and "I hope they do well."
Liverpool has won only a single Premier League game this season, and manager Roy Hodgson is resting Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres for the Napoli game.
British media couldn't help but make light of the club's struggles, with newspaper The Guardian quipping that "it said everything about the paucity of the squad (that) the most famous person on board was the pilot." (AP)
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U2 will likely follow its 2009 album "No Line on the Horizon" with a disc primarily produced by Danger Mouse, according to frontman Bono.
He told Australian newspaper The Age that U2 is preparing three new albums, with the Danger Mouse (real name: Brian Burton) project possibly arriving in early 2011.
"We have about 12 songs with him," Bono was quoted as saying. "At the moment that looks like the album we will put out next because it's just happening so easily."
Danger Mouse is best known for his work as one-half of pop-soul duo Gnarls Barkley, and for the illicit 2004 Jay-Z/Beatles mashup "The Grey Album."
Bono also revealed that the band is working on a club record of remixes; Will.i.am, David Guetta and Lady Gaga producer RedOne are all involved with the project.
A possible third album would feature the material that Bono and guitarist the Edge wrote for the upcoming Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark." "We haven't convinced the rest of the band to do that yet," Bono said.
U2 will bring its U2 360 tour to Australia in December before returning to North America in mid-May. "Spider-Man" previews are set to begin on November 14. (reu)
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A newly published study by Northwestern University researchers suggests that Mom was right when she insisted that you continue music lessons -- even after it was clear that a professional music career was not in your future.
The study, which will appear in the April issue of Nature Neuroscience, is the first to provide concrete evidence that playing a musical instrument significantly enhances the brainstem's sensitivity to speech sounds. This finding has broad implications because it applies to sound encoding skills involved not only in music but also in language.
The findings indicate that experience with music at a young age in effect can "fine-tune" the brain's auditory system. "Increasing music experience appears to benefit all children -- whether musically exceptional or not -- in a wide range of learning activities," says Nina Kraus, director of Northwestern's Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory and senior author of the study.
"Our findings underscore the pervasive impact of musical training on neurological development. Yet music classes are often among the first to be cut when school budgets get tight. That's a mistake," says Kraus, Hugh Knowles Professor of Neurobiology and Physiology and professor of communication sciences and disorders.
"Our study is the first to ask whether enhancing the sound environment -- in this case with musical training -- will positively affect the way an individual encodes sound even at a level as basic as the brainstem," says Patrick Wong, primary author of "Musical Experience Shapes Human Brainstem Encoding of Linguistic Pitch Patterns." An old structure from an evolutionary standpoint, the brainstem once was thought to only play a passive role in auditory processing.
Using a novel experimental design, the researchers presented the Mandarin word "mi" to 20 adults as they watched a movie. Half had at least six years of musical instrument training starting before the age of 12. The other half had minimal (less than 2 years) or no musical training. All were native English speakers with no knowledge of Mandarin, a tone language.
In tone languages, a single word can differ in meaning depending on pitch patterns called "tones." For example, the Mandarin word "mi" delivered in a level tone means "to squint," in a rising tone means "to bewilder," and in a dipping (falling then rising) tone means "rice." English, on the other hand, only uses pitch to reflect intonation (as when rising pitch is used in questions).
As the subjects watched the movie, the researchers used electrophysiological methods to measure and graph the accuracy of their brainstem ability to track the three differently pitched "mi" sounds.
"Even with their attention focused on the movie and though the sounds had no linguistic or musical meaning for them, we found our musically trained subjects were far better at tracking the three different tones than the non-musicians," says Wong, director of Northwestern's Speech Research Laboratory and assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders.
The research by co-authors Wong, Kraus, Erika Skoe, Nicole Russo and Tasha Dees represents a new way of defining the relationship between the brainstem -- a lower order brain structure thought to be unchangeable and uninvolved in complex processing -- and the neocortex, a higher order brain structure associated with music, language and other complex processing.
These findings are in line with previous studies by Wong and his group suggesting that musical experience can improve one's ability to learn tone languages in adulthood and level of musical experience plays a role in the degree of activation in the auditory cortex. Wong also is a faculty member in Northwestern's Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program.
The findings also are consistent with studies by Kraus and her research team that have revealed anomalies in brainstem sound encoding in some children with learning disabilities which can be improved by auditory training.
"We've found that by playing music -- an action thought of as a function of the neocortex -- a person may actually be tuning the brainstem," says Kraus. "This suggests that the relationship between the brainstem and neocortex is a dynamic and reciprocal one and tells us that our basic sensory circuitry is more malleable than we previously thought."
Overall, the findings assist in unfolding new lines of inquiry. The researchers now are looking to find ways to "train" the brain to better encode sound -- work that potentially has far-reaching educational and clinical implications. The study was supported by Northwestern University, grants from the National Institutes of Health and a grant from the National Science Foundation.
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Washburn Guitars is a division of U.S. Music Corp., a world leader in the production and distribution of fretted instruments, amplification and sound reinforcement. The 125-year-old company began as a high-quality stringed instrument manufacturer in Chicago and has since acquired Oscar Schmidt (makers of the AutoHarp and student instruments), Sound Tech (sound reinforcement and pro audio gear), Randall Amplifiers and it's most recent acquisition, Vinci Strings. U.S. Music Corp. is rated as one of the top 50 companies in the music industry worldwide and is currently located in Mundelein, Illinois.
Many great guitarists are playing washburn guitars. Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has been playing the Washburn RR300 for two years and has been very amazed with the guitar over this time. When Washburn approached him about a Signature Limited Edition, he gladly agreed to work with Washburn on this special offering.
The RW300 brings together a Seymour Duncan P90 style pickup and a Fishman preamp with a piezo bridge. These pickups, in combination with the chambered mahogany body and solid spruce top, reduce the chance of feedback and give the RW300 a tremendously accurate and vibrant acoustic tone. Roger was the creator and sonic architect of such undeniable classics as Dark Side Of The Moon (which spent nearly 15 years on the Billboard 200 album chart), The Wall (which has been certified 23x RIAA platinum), Animals, Wish You Were Here, and Final Cut. Following Final Cut, Roger Waters left Pink Floyd.
His first full-length solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking was released in April 1984 to great critical and popular success, generating his first solo tour. June 1987's Radio K.A.O.S. continued the path of solo success, bringing Roger back to the stage. His last full-length solo album, the moody and ironic Amused To Death, considered by many to be a comparable achievement to Dark Side Of The Moon or The Wall, was released in August 1992.
Waters has been working on Ca Ira (pronounced sa-ira), an opera in English and French, a new rock album to be released in 2002 and Echoes the best of Pink Floyd, which was re-mastered by long time Pink Floyd producer James Guthrie.
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Aww, little Justin Bieber. Butter wouldn't melt, would it? Just look at his cute little dimples, his nicely combed hair, the way he pouts like a big grown up boy. Bless! Oh, look - he's playing piano in a mall! I bet he's singing about swimming or summer camp or something... Wait, what?
Okay, so it's not young Justin's fault that the sight and sound of tweenie popstars singing about deep commitment issues will freak some of us out. In fact, we're clearly in the minority: My Worlds is a combination of the My World debut album and My World 2.0 EPs, the former having topped charts, the latter already a Billboard Number 1 and selling by the bucketload Stateside.
Bieber, from Stratford, Ontario, was signed by Usher at just 13 years of age, and is still just a lad at 16. Such youth is - initially, at least - a little disarming: the first few bars of opening track One Time have the feel of pre-school programming, Justin's boyish tones more evocative of a gang show than a youthful R&B Lothario.
That impression, however, is one that doesn't last; One Time blossoms into a slicker-than-slick production, its catchy chorus hooking into its intended audience with all the imitable requisites. It's hardly rocket science, but neither does it claim to be: it does exactly what it says on the tin, as they say.
Thereafter tracks (from My World, especially) exhibit a disappointing-yet-seemingly-inevitable tendency to blend into one another, both aurally and lyrically: Favourite Girl trades on a light, disposable hip-hop backing, Bieber's adopted maturity and authority ("You're my special little lady") somewhat at odds with his - and his audience's - years.
Bigger, similarly, sees young Justin elevated to sexy adulthood ("Heartbreaker when I was little / But now I'm bigger") over an otherwise innocuous track, while One Less Lonely Girl - after Down To Earth has provided the obligatory piano ballad - makes what a cynic would call an unashamed and unapologetic attempt to woo every tween girl so inclined to lend an ear.
Merits are to be found, however, such as Love Me's Euro-inspired electro take on The Cardigans' Love Fool, and My World 2.0's lead single Baby - featuring Ludacris, obviously - which is already bothering the charts, its neat production and soaring chorus in this instance saving My Worlds' midsection from sagging into obscurity.
Somebody To Love (not a cover of the Queen classic) then introduces a stronger dance element - doffing a cap to Lady Gaga, perhaps - before Stuck In The Moment's harmless progression namechecks famous tragic couples like a Taylor Swift track, U Smile engages classic pop principles with panache, and Eenie Meenie benefits from the not inconsiderable talents - and appeal - of Sean Kingston.
My Worlds, it seems, while never particularly innovative, is largely free of filler, and is for the most part an effective conduit for Bieber's singing and songwriting talents. Okay, so it's aimed fairly squarely at a particularly receptive market - and it may not wind up in the hands of those whose teenage years are just a memory - but there's enough here to suggest that Justin Bieber will be a familiar pop name in the years to come. (David Welsh)
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Who, deep down doesn't love Kylie? Sure, there was a time when she was genuinely a bit naff - the dreg ends of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman era, for example; and 2007's X was just plain forgettable. But somewhere, throughout the past two decades, there's something for even the most stoney faced pop fan.
Whether it was bubble-permed, fresh faced Kylie singing Hand On Your Heart, or naughty, indie Kylie hanging off Michael Hutchence's arm, teasing with Confide In Me and purring away with Nick Cave, or the disco queen who gave the world the insatiable dance floor filler Can't Get You Out Of My Head - they were all era-defining moments, and they all had something in common; they showed Kylie at her most vulnerable.
She was young, then she was rebellious and, with the latter song, the one that transformed her into a genuine superstar, she was a woman clambering for survival, desperate to resurrect her career.
That's the thing we love about Kylie - she's a little elfin creature, hanging on the edge. If rumours are true and she really was the intended vocalist for the Manic Street Preachers' duet with Traci Lords, Little Baby Nothing, well, it could have been the most perfect piece of pop-casting ever made.
That is why this, her 11th album in 23 years, fails to quite hit the spot. At the age of 42 she's been through so much - her battle with cancer, her widely reported love affairs with wrong 'uns, the ups and downs of a long and turbulent career - but she's come out on the other side more self-assured and confident, and as a result, the sparkle's diminished.
That's not to say it's bad - far from it; there are five brilliant songs on here. The title track, for example, is sassy and triumphant, with tribal drums that give way to her now trademark twitchy electro sound - "I'm fierce and I'm feeling mighty, I'm a golden girl I'm an aphrodite...don't you mess with me, you don't want to fight me," she warns.
Opening song All The Lovers is a sophisticated Goldfrapp-esque track, with layers of synths and restrained vocals. It's got that downbeat, end of the night vibe favoured by Alison and co down to a tee and is destined to become a Kylie classic, although its positioning in the track listing feels a bit odd.
Closer has a curious, rolling prog backing that Muse would scrap for, while Cupid Boy has some time collaborator Calvin Harris's influence stamped all over it, right down to the get-the-crowd-jumping break down.
The Jake Shears-penned Too Much sounds like a Scissor Sisters b-side - a slice of start/stop disco funk that would reach its full potential on the dance floor.
Those five tracks are typical of Kylie's bizarre career. Neither a singer or songwriter of any real merit, she's seen off the competition throughout two decades of being pushed, moulded and sculpted into whatever those around her are feeling at the time. No one believes she loves bubblegum pop, brooding indie or ripping it up on the dance floor - it's just what she does, and somehow it works.
The world of girl fronted pop has changed since her last outing - whereas pre 2007 she was filling a void, that space has now been cluttered up with the likes of Lady Gaga and Pixie Lott but, with five singles sitting and waiting, Aphrodite is the record she needed. Just be prepared to hit 'skip'. (Helen Clarke)
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Use of most electronic media is not associated with headaches, at least not in adolescents. A study of 1025 13-17 year olds, published in the open access journal BMC Neurology, found no association between the use of computer games, mobile phones or television and the occurrence of headaches or migraines. However, listening to one or two hours of music every day was associated with a pounding head.
Astrid Milde-Busch, from Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany, worked with a team of researchers to study the links between exposure to electronics and the prevalence and type of headaches. She said, "Excessive use of electronic media is often reported to be associated with long-lasting adverse effects on health like obesity or lack of regular exercise, or unspecific symptoms like tiredness, stress, concentration difficulties and sleep disturbances. Studies into the occurrence of headaches have had mixed results and for some types of media, in particular computer games, are completely lacking."
The researchers interviewed 489 teenagers who claimed to suffer from headaches and 536 who said they did not. When the two groups were compared, no associations were found for television viewing, electronic gaming, mobile phone usage or computer usage. Daily consumption of music was significantly associated with suffering from any type of headache, although, as Milde-Busch points out, "It cannot be concluded whether the habit of listening to music is the cause of frequent headaches, or the consequence in the sense a self-therapy by relaxation."
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Using an innovative combination of music psychology and leading-edge audio engineering the project is looking in more detail than ever before at how music conveys emotion.
The project, at Glasgow Caledonian University is supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The research could lead to advances in the use of music to help regulate a person's mood, and promote the development of music-based therapies to tackle conditions like depressive illnesses. It could help alleviate symptoms for people who are dealing with physical pain and even lead to doctors putting music on a prescription that is tailored to suit the needs of an individual.
"The impact of a piece of music on a person goes so much further than thinking that a fast tempo can lift a mood and a slow one can bring it down. Music expresses emotion as a result of many factors," says audio engineering specialist Dr Don Knox, project leader. "These include the tone, structure and other technical characteristics of a piece. Lyrics can have a big impact too. But so can purely subjective factors: where or when you first heard it, whether you associate it with happy or sad events and so on. Our project is the first step towards taking all of these considerations -- and the way they interact with each other -- on board."
Raymond MacDonald, Professor of Music Psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University, is also playing a central role in the initiative.
The team has already carried out an unprecedentedly detailed audio analysis of pieces of music, identified as expressing a range of emotions by a panel of volunteers.
Each volunteer listens to pieces of previously unheard contemporary popular music* and assigns each one a position on a graph. One axis measures the type of feeling (positivity or negativity) that the piece communicates; the other measures the intensity or activity level of the music. The research team then assess the audio characteristics that the pieces falling into each part of the graph have in common.
"We look at parameters such as rhythm patterns, melodic range, musical intervals, length of phrases, musical pitch and so on," says Dr Knox. "For example, music falling into a positive category might have a regular rhythm, bright timbre and a fairly steady pitch contour over time. If tempo and loudness increase, for instance, this would place the piece in a more 'exuberant' or 'excited' region of the graph."
The team are now about to start their assessment of the impact of lyrics, and then hope to focus on how individuals use and experience music at a subjective level.
The ultimate aim is to develop a comprehensive mathematical model that explains music's ability to communicate different emotions. This could make it possible, within a few years, to develop computer programs which identify pieces of music that will influence a individual's mood (e.g. to motivate them when exercising or when revising for exams), meet their emotional needs and help them cope better with physical pain.
"By making it possible to search for music and organize collections according to emotional content, such programs could fundamentally change the way we interact with music," says Dr Knox. "Some online music stores already tag music according to whether a piece is 'happy' or 'sad'. Our project is refining this approach and giving it a firm scientific foundation, unlocking all kinds of possibilities and opportunities as a result."
'Emotion Classification in Contemporary Music' is a 3 year project due for completion at the end of October 2010. It is receiving EPSRC funding of just over £82,000.
* Music classified by the volunteers consists of contemporary popular music not available on general release, in order to eliminate any personal, subjective connotations any of the pieces may have for the volunteers. "This focus on popular music is an innovative feature of our project as previous studies on music's emotional content have concentrated on classical music," says Dr Knox. "We think concentrating on popular music is important as our work could have important implications for the use of personal music players and on how people interact with their music collections."
In this project, digital music files are analyzed using advanced signal processing techniques. Many measures are based on extraction of the signal frequency spectrum over time. From this information, measures of intensity, timbre and rhythm can be calculated, in addition to estimates of musical pitch and tonality.
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In the world of the music business, there are truly singers who sing and singers who don't, along with talent booking agents who book and those that couldn't sell cotton candy at the circus. Is it drive, talent or a mystical combination of "factors" that create singers and talent booking agents, or is it yet the pure unexplainable? Let's look at some factors in this article as singers, looking to further their careers, try to find suitable representation.
As a former talent booking agent with the William Morris Agency, I can tell you that there are many factors that determine both effective agents and marketable singers and artists. While there are many explainable factors, there certainly is the element of luck, the right place at the right time and the "Who knows, it just happened," phenomenon. Let's start with what we can determine and hopefully you will gain some insight into what effective booking agents look like and your securing one of them.
To begin with, there are many caliber of booking agents out there. As I've outlined in a previous article on booking talent, that you can find at ReelMusician, there are the order taking agents who book mainly headline acts, the agent who started in some agency somewhere and who branches out starting their own agency booking more of the "has been" acts and the lowest, but not always the least on the totem pole agents. These agents are usually friends of the artist or a manager looking to push their act before a major record deal signing, etc.
With each agent level comes a different approach. The order taking agent, with the larger well known talent agencies, isn't going to be interested in your act unless there is interest and ongoing courting from a major record label. These agents take the "baby" acts and use leverage, with promoters who want the headline act, into a must take the baby act as well deal – And most promoters don't have a problem and understand that this is part of the deal when playing in the big boys club. Unless you have a record deal or are very appealing and are drawing some interest from the labels or a big time manager, you won't find yourself behind the desk of one of these agents. If you are trying to approach the agent at the top of the pyramid, you must recognize that image, packaging, appeal, and your knowing and talking the game to a tee, and not in artsy fartsy language, is going to be key.
I recommend that you really have your act together and don't even begin to bother these individuals, not that they're necessarily the best agents in the game, but certainly have more power and influence from position alone, before approaching them. Your artist bio, pictures, artist demos have to look like there label ready. And before that, you really need to have a manager and a manager working on securing an agent on your behalf.
Again, many more articles on this and other topics can be found at ReelMusician. So, unless you really have your act together, with management in place, don't bother wasting yours or the agent's time.
The next level down the agent totem pole will be not only be easier to gain access to, but easier to gain representation from. The middle line agents are hard working agents who make their bread and butter on the older, end of the product or market shelf life acts. These acts, because of name recognition, can make these agents a significant income. You will have to prove to this agent that you will not take up any more time than any other act that they are promoting. Why should they spend all of their time trying to book your act with nothing or little in return? This is a key question. Ask yourself, as an agent, what do I get out of this? - Phone bills and mailing costs or am I going to see a valid positive cash flow return on all of my time expended on this act? I want you to think about that question and reflect. This alone will help you not only relate, converse knowing their difficulties in booking, but ultimately help you secure a booking agent.
In the game of booking, you as an artist have to have something more than "hip and cool" and a "new" artist sound, but you have to be able to present to the seller, that being your agent, that he or she has something of value to sell with minimal headaches. You can't possibly begin to imagine how hard it is to book some acts – when you start booking your own shows, with vested interest I might ad, you begin to touch on the realities of the agent's day to day barrage of booking complexities. So begin to compile a mental list of positive booking attributes that you or your band can bring to the table.
As you look at either contemplating a manager, or a serious friend who wants a try at booking and management of your act, try to be reasonable in your business relationships. I've said it before, that everyone wants to be a star, but nobody wants to help pay for it. For the most part, artists just expect that booking agents and managers will pick up the exhaustive phone, mailing and press kit bills. You might inquire, if you are really serious about securing a business team, about helping out with some of the initial start-up costs trying to land your act on the map. It takes a tremendous amount of energy and money and just your willingness to help out alone, will tell a manager or booking agent that you are serious and not just "takers." This alone, even if they decline the financial help, may be the key in determining the start of a successful relationship.
In closing, in order for you to succeed, you must remain in front of the masses and this is done not so much musically, but in your day to attitude and business focus and with your professional and well laid out blueprint for success. Feel free to contact us at the contact numbers that follow.
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Keeping a beat or staying on-key can be acquired skills. Software engineers have designed a new software package to make that easier, turning your computer into a singing teacher. The system plots the sound waves produced by your vocal cords, allowing you to adjust them to the desired pitch in real time. The system is also being used to treat speech impediments and to help kids learn how to read.
Want to learn to sing? Now, your computer can coach you to carry a tune.
Ashley West is learning to sing and her vocal coach is a computer program called Singing Coach.
Chief technology officer Ken Spiegel works behind the scenes with this new Singing Coach software. Spiegel, Vice President and General Manager of Electronic Learning Products, Inc. in Tampa, Fla., says: "Your vocal chords vibrate. They create a pitch and frequency that's measured by the computer." It's plotted in real-time on a graph and the goal is to stay in the blue box.
"It's great to see the box and visually stay in it," West says.
This software is not just about singing; it's also being used in schools to help kids improve their reading. A study revealed students who used the Singing Coach program for nine weeks improve their reading one to three grade levels. Susan Homan, a professor of literacy at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla., and study author, says, "I have never seen that kind of growth in such a short period of time."
Bekah Bychowski went up two grade levels in her reading skills. "I wasn't stuttering when I was reading books out loud in class."
The singing coach software is now being used in seven schools with kids from fourth grade to high school. There are three versions of the software including kids, family and a professional version. The cost ranges from $30 to $100.
BACKGROUND: Singing Coach software teaches how to sing or improve singing ability, and may even help children with cochlear implants improve their speaking skills.
HOW IT WORKS: The software includes a vocal range analyzer and a pitch tracking line that gives real-time feedback on singers' performances as they sing. This enables them to hear, note for note, exactly where their pitch, rhythm and tempo need to be corrected. The software is easy to install and requires no previous musical training or experience to use. It comes with 20 singing lessons and a high-fidelity headset with a built-in microphone for hands-free singing. At the end of each performance, the software "scores" the singer. Once a skill is mastered, the program graduates the singer to the next level. A more advanced version, Singing Coach Unlimited, offers access to more than 10,000 songs and also allows singers to compose their own songs, and compete with friends to see who can get the highest score.
WHAT IS PITCH: Sound waves are pressure waves. A vibrating object creates a disturbance in the surrounding air, much like a stone cast in a quiet pond will cause waves to ripple outward from the spot where the stone hit. All sound waves have wavelength and frequency. Objects that vibrate very quickly create short wavelengths and a high-pitched sound. Objects that vibrate very slowly create long wavelengths and a low-pitched sound. Frequency measures the speed of vibration in a unit called a Hertz (Hz), and 1 Hz is equivalent to 1 vibration per second. Pluck a string on a guitar, and it might vibrate 500 times per second, so the sound wave's frequency would be 500 Hertz. Pitch simply denotes those frequencies within the range of human hearing (from about 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz). The faster the rate of vibration, the higher the pitch; the slower the rate of vibration, the lower the pitch.
PITCH PERFECT: Perfect, or absolute, pitch includes two separate skills: the ability to name a musical tone once it is heard, and the ability to sing a named tone on command. It is sometimes confused with relative pitch: the ability to sing or play accurately given a starting note.
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Professor Peter Rabinowitz from Yale University School of Medicine says that personal music devices such as MP3 players can generate levels of sound at the ear in excess of 120 decibels, similar in intensity to a jet engine, especially when used with earphones that insert into the ear canal.
The use of these devices is high in young people -- more than 90% in surveys from Europe and the United States -- and "has grown faster than our ability to assess their potential health consequences," he writes.
However, evidence that music players are causing hearing loss in young people is mixed, suggesting that the true population effects may only now be starting to be detectable, says the author.
Other health effects may also need to be considered. For example, some studies have shown that use of personal music players can interfere with concentration and performance when driving, in a similar way to mobile phones.
Although evidence based guidance is lacking, Rabinowitz believes that the importance of hearing loss as a public health problem makes it reasonable to encourage patients of all ages to promote "hearing health" through avoidance of excessive noise exposure.
He also suggests it would be prudent to remove earphones while driving and performing other safety sensitive tasks, and calls for more comprehensive and ongoing surveys of the hearing health of young people.
"Personal music players provide a reminder that our hunger for new technology should be accompanied by equally vigorous efforts to understand and manage the health consequences of changing lifestyles," he concludes.
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Music therapy provided by trained music therapists may help to improve movement in stroke patients, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review. A few small trials also suggest a wider role for music in recovery from brain injury.
More than 20 million people suffer strokes each year. Many patients acquire brain injuries that affect their movement and language abilities, which results in significant loss of quality of life. Music therapists are trained in techniques that stimulate brain functions and aim to improve outcomes for patients. One common technique is rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS), which relies on the connections between rhythm and movement. Music of a particular tempo is used to stimulate movement in the patient.
Seven small studies, which together involved 184 people, were included in the review. Four focused specifically on stroke patients, with three of these using RAS as the treatment technique. RAS therapy improved walking speed by an average of 14 metres per minute compared to standard movement therapy, and helped patients take longer steps. In one trial, RAS also improved arm movements, as measured by elbow extension angle.
"This review shows encouraging results for the effects of music therapy in stroke patients," said lead researcher Joke Bradt of the Arts and Quality of Life Research Center at Temple University in Philadelphia, US. "As most of the studies we looked at used rhythm-based methods, we suggest that rhythm may be a primary factor in music therapy approaches to treating stroke."
Other music therapy techniques, including listening to live and recorded music, were employed to try to improve speech, behaviour and pain in patients with brain injuries, and although outcomes in some cases were positive, evidence was limited. "Several trials that we identified had less than 20 participants," said Bradt. "It is expected that larger samples sizes will be used in future studies to enable sound recommendations for clinical practice."
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Music serves as a natural and non-invasive intervention for patients with severe neurological disorders to promote long-term memory, social interaction and communication. However, there is currently no plausible explanation of its neural basis for why and how music affects physical and psychosocial responses.
Origins of music perception in humans may have their foundation in animal communication calls, as evidenced here in non-human primates. Many speech sounds and animal vocalizations, for instance, contain components, commonly referred to as complex tones, which consist of a fundamental frequency (f0) and higher harmonics.
Using electrophysiological recording techniques to study the neuronal activities in the auditory cortex of awake monkeys, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center's have shown neurons tuned to the fundamental frequencies and harmonic sounds, and such neural mechanisms of harmonic processing lay close to tonotopically organized auditory areas. They presented their findings at the 39th annual meeting Society of Neuroscience.
"The understanding of neural mechanism of 'innate' music features in non-human primates will facilitate an improved understanding of music perception in the human nervous system," explains Yuki Kikuchi, PhD, a research associate in the department of physiology and biophysics. "This will allow a neurobiological framework from which to understand the basis of the effectiveness of music therapeutic interventions."
The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health. Kikuchi reports no related financial interests.
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Many indie labels skip this step, at least initially, but it is a good idea to have your record label set-up as a legal business entity from the start. You will need to be an actual, legal business if you want a business bank account or credit card, and it certainly makes tax time a lot more manageable. Likewise, if you are applying for business loans or other kinds of funding, you will need to be a legal business.
