C, E-flat and G go into a bar.

C, E-flat and G go into a bar. The bartender says, “Sorry, we don’t serve minors,” and E-flat leaves. C and G have an open fifth between them and after a few drinks, G is out flat. F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough. D comes into the bar and heads straight for the bathroom saying, “Excuse me, I’ll just be a second.”

A comes into the bar, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor and sends him out. Then the bartender notices a B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and shouts, “Get out now. You’re the seventh minor I’ve found in this bar tonight.”

Next night, E-flat, not easily deflated, comes into the bar in a 3-piece suit with nicely shined shoes. The bartender (who used to have a nice corporate job until his company downsized) says: “You’re looking pretty sharp tonight. Come on in. This could be a major development.” And in fact, E-flat takes off his suit and everything else and stands there au naturel. Eventually, C, who had passed out under the bar the night before, begins to sober up and realizes in horror that he’s under a rest.

So, C goes to trial, is convicted of contributing to the diminution of a minor and sentenced to 10 years of DS without Coda at an up scale correctional facility. The conviction is overturned on appeal, however, and C is found innocent of any wrongdoing, even accidental, and that all accusations to the contrary are bassless.

The bartender decides, however, that since he’s only had tenor so patrons, the soprano out in the bathroom and everything has become alto much treble, he needs a rest and closes the bar.

How To Build Any Major Chord In Less Than 10 Minutes

Here is a new article I wrote for Author’s Den, ArticlesBase, and EzineArticles.com called How To Build Any Major Chord In Less Than 10 Minutes

Music Theory For The Modern Rockin' Metalhead

If you have hopes, dreams, and aspirations of becoming a professional musician, one would assume that becoming a master of music theory would be one of the first orders of business. However, there are an astounding number of aspiring music professionals that simply choose not to study the science of music theory in depth for a variety of reasons. The primary excuse I have heard over the years from other musicians is that they simply don’t have time. Well, no more! Read this article, and you’ll be building major chords in less than 10 minutes.

All major chords contain 3 notes; no more and no less. The lowest note is called the root, the middle note is called the third, and the highest note is called the fifth. While the notes will change depending on which note you start on, the distance between the notes will never change. In order to build any major chord, just pick a note to start on and measure the distance of the other two notes using the following formula…

(Root) —- 4 half steps up–> (Third) —- 3 half steps up —-> (Fifth)

Let’s say I pick the root note to be F. I would start on the note F, and count up 4 half steps: One (F#), two (G), three (G#), and four (A). I landed on A, which make that the middle note in the chord (more commonly called the third). Next, I would start on the third (which I had figured out to be A) and count up 3 half steps: One (A#), two (B), and three (C). I landed on C, which makes that the highest note in the chord (more commonly called the fifth.)

The three notes I ended up with are F, A, and C. I would call this an F major chord because all major chords are named after the root note they start on. Play the notes F, A, and C at the same time, and you will sound an F major chord.

No matter which note you decide to start on, the formula will never change. So start building more major chords starting on different notes!

Kyle Morrison Lovely is the author of “Music Theory For The Modern Rockin’ Metalhead: Write Better Songs, Right Now!” More information can be found at http://www.shattersphere.net.

2008 Music Wrap Up

2008 saw the release of many great albums and the emergence of some great new bands. I have compiled 2 lists with my most listened to artists, bands, composers, and soundtracks according to my iTunes playlist. Check out the list of the music that has gotten the best of my ears over the past year…

Top 40 Most Listened To Bands of 2008 (alphabetical order)

Alestorm
All That Remains
Amorphis
Angra
Avalanche
The Black Mages
Children of Bodom
Dalriada
Dark Moor
DragonForce
Dragonland
Elvenking
Finntroll
Firewind
George Carlin (RIP)
Green Day
In Flames
Kamelot
Korpiklaani
Linkin Park
Mercenary
Meshuggah
Metallica
Nightwish
The Offspring
Olympos Mons
Opeth
The Perennial
Poisonblack
Powerglove
Rhapsody of Fire
Sabaton
Skillet
Sonata Arctica
Svartsot
Turisas
Tyr
Van Canto
When The Empire Falls
Wuthering Heights

Top 20 Soundtracks and Classical (no particular order)

The Brink of Time
Chrono Symphonic
Dragon Quest IV Symphonic Edition
Voices of The Lifestream
Final Fantasy OST (VII, VIII, IX)
Final Fantasy – S Generation
Final Fantasy Piano Collections (IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X)
Final Fantasy Tour de Japon Concert
Piano Squall
Video Games Live Volume 1
JS Bach
Charles Ives
Chopin
Beethoven
Fredrik Klingwall
Handel
Mozart
Tchaikovsky
Nobuo Uematsu
The Top 100 Masterpieces (Vol 1-10)

How To Construct A Minor Chord In Less Than 10 Minutes

 

Music Theory For The Modern Rockin' Metalhead by Kyle Morrison Lovely

Knowing how to build minor chords is just as important as knowing how to build major chords.  People spend years at college learning how to master skills such as building minor chords, but you don’t have to!  If you have already learned how to build major chords, this lesson will be a breeze for you.  The formula for building minor chords is strikingly similar to the formula used for major chords.  Building minor chords will require a simple knowledge of notes and basic mathematics. If you possess those skills, then it’s time to learn how to build minor chords in less than 10 minutes.

 

 

All minor chords contain 3 notes; no more and no less.  The lowest note is called the root, the middle note is called the third, and the highest note is called the fifth.  While the names of the notes will change depending on which note you start on, the distance between the notes will never change.  In order to build a minor chord, just pick a note to start on and measure the distance of the other two notes using the following formula…

 

(Root)  —- 3 half steps up–>  (Third)  —- 4 half steps up —-> (Fifth)

 

For this example, I’ll pick the note E.  I would start on the note E, and count up 3 half steps:  One (F), two (F#), and three (G).  I landed on G, which make that the middle note in the chord (more commonly called the third).  Next, I would begin on G (my third) and count up 4 half steps to discover my fifth:  One (G#), two (A), three (Bb), and four (B).  I landed on B, which is the last and highest note in the chord (the fifth).

 

The three notes I ended up with are E, G, and B.  I would call this an E minor chord because all minor chords are named after the root note they start on.  Play the notes E, G, and B at the same time, and you will sound an E major chord.

 

No matter which note you decide to start on, the formula will never change.  Try building a minor chord starting on a different note, and remember to double check your work!

How To Construct A Diminished Chord In Less Than 10 Minutes

Learning how to build diminished chords for the first time can be intimidating for the beginning musician. Diminished chords aren’t used nearly as much as major or minor chords, as they produce a harsh and unsettling sound when they are used. But the process of building these types of chords doesn’t have to be harsh or unsettling. I have boiled down the basics of diminished chords so that you can learn how to build them in less than 10 minutes.

Just like major and minor chords, all diminished chords are made up of 3 notes. The lowest note is called the root, the middle note is called the third, and the highest note is called the fifth. While the notes will change depending on which note you start on, the distance between the notes will never change. The first step in building a diminished chord is to select a starting note, or root. Once you have picked your root note, follow this formula to figure out the other two notes…

(Root) —- 3 half steps up–> (Third) —- 3 half steps up —-> (Fifth)

For this exercise, I’ll pick the root note as D. Starting on the note D, and count up 3 half steps: One (Eb), two (E), and three (F). I landed on F, which make that the middle note in the chord, or the third. Next, I would start on the third (which I just calculated to be F) and count up 3 half steps: One (F#), two (G), and three (Ab). The last note in the chord, or fifth, is calculated as Ab.

The three notes I ended up with are D, F, and Ab. I would call this a D diminished chord because all diminished chords are named after the root note they start on. If you were to play the notes D, F, and Ab at the same time, and you will sound a D diminished chord.

The easy part about figuring out any diminished chord is that no matter which note you decide to start on, the formula will never change. Once you figure out one of them, the rest come easy by sticking to the formula.

Kyle Morrison Lovely is the author of “Music Theory For The Modern Rockin’ Metalhead: Write Better Songs, Right Now!” More information can be found at http://www.shattersphere.net.

YouTube Now Mutes Videos With Unauthorized Copyrighted Music

I’m not quite sure when this started, but I just heard about this new “feature” today. YouTube has decided to mute the audio on any videos containing copyrighted music, which means just about every single video related to music will eventually be muted. From now on, you’ll get a little explanation from YouTube saying “NOTICE: This video contains an audio track that has not been authorized by all copyright holders. The audio has been disabled.” This means that thousands and even millions of remix videos, music videos, spoofs, and more will be rendered useless. Examples: This one and this one.

As a copyright holder, I fully understand the law regarding copyrights and why YouTube is complying with this exactly as the law reads. Trust me, there’s a threat of a huge lawsuit behind the curtains that we all don’t know about, most likely from the dipshits in the RIAA. This is going to hurt everyone, and perhaps it will hurt YouTube most of all. I’m not even sure what they think this motion will solve, so they really think people are going to quit making these videos? Do they really think that my muting the audio that people are just going to head straight to iTunes and download the song instead? People aren’t going to stop making videos with other peoples music and people aren’t going to stop sharing music with one another. The days of artists making money directly from the content they create are being left behind. Those that are still clinging to the idea of simply turning a profit from selling their content on an obsolete medium (CDs) have had their heads up their asses since ’98, and they aren’t pulling them out anytime soon.

To me, trying to uphold the copyright laws that were written a hundred years ago in modern times doesn’t make sense to me. Times have changed, communication has expanded, and technology has evolved, yet we forced to take steps backwards because a group of obsolete middlemen (RIAA, record labels, etc.) are clinging to outdated methods of controlled distribution. The solution is to figure out ways to make money around the content. What if YouTube offered a share of advertising revenues to copyright holders? I certainly wouldn’t complain about that! Most musicians would make far more money today if they were getting a cut of Google’s ad revenue (which numbers in the tens of billions of dollars annually.) Simply removing the content and banning the use of copyrighted music on YouTube is one of the biggest steps backwards I’ve seen in a very long time. We are going to laugh at ourselves down the line for being so ridiculous, but the question is: When?

My band got our break by giving away our music on file sharing networks. It if it wasn’t for people sharing our music, we wouldn’t have the international fan base we have today. Many people who downloaded our music for free would end up buying something tangible such as a T-shirt or an autographed poster. While the RIAA was throwing a shitfit over Napster, many emerging artists (including myself) saw the long-term benefits and potential of embracing the file sharing networks and social networking websites. I’ve always liked to consider myself as being at the front of the line when it comes to the future of music. I loved the idea of file sharing when it first began, and I still do. I attribute a lot of my success to the people who have helped share my music. I have 3 albums the have been commercially released and I hold the copyrights to all of my music and I still advocate sharing it on file sharing networks after 6 years as a professional. I actually appreciate the people who take the time to make user-created music videos with Shattersphere’s music. I personally thank them for it too!

So what’s next? Will videos containing copyrighted footage be removed? Will YouTube become a graveyard of webcam rants? If these sorts of restrictions are placed on YouTube, surely the rest of the Web will have to comply. It sickens me to see this kind of regression and restriction in an age where the possibilities are seemingly endless. When copyright holders as a whole can get past the idea of “pay-per-copy” then we can truly open the gates to making even more money as artists. Then, everyone can win: The users can create remixes and fan videos; the artists can enjoy the benefits of multiple streams of residual income generated around their content. So, I’ll be the first to take a step and tell you to go download all of my copyrighted music. It’s relatively easy to find on Mininova or The Pirate Bay. Enjoy it, share it, post it, use it to make a video, use it in a school project, do whatever you’d like to do with it. It’s my job to figure out ways to make money in an ever-changing world of technology, hopefully more music professionals can set their focus on this same objective instead of trying to punish the same people that buy their music. People are tripping over nickels on their way to millions, and YouTube is shooting itself in the foot with a shotgun. I smell a revolution…

Getting Your Break On The Internet: The Top 7 Websites All Musicians Need To Join Right Now!

How To Rock: The Ultimate Guide To Making It BIG In The Music Business

If you play in a band today, having a strong online presence is of the utmost importance.  More and more people are looking to the Internet as their primary source of discovering new music.  Thanks to the Internet, the playing field between signed and unsigned bands has become level and you don’t need a million dollar marketing budget anymore to influence large numbers of people around the world.  With good marketing skills, some Photoshop savvy, and good old-fashioned hard work, your band can reach millions of potential fans by harnessing the power of the Internet. 

 

The key lies in promoting your band in the right places, and it’s not always easy with the seemingly endless pile of websites out there that offer MP3 hosting, free promotional services, promise to get your band all of the exposure in the world.  Sorting through this mess and trying to figure out which ones are worthwhile and which ones are not can be quite time consuming.  While signing up for as many sites as possible will benefit your band, I’ve sorted through the garbage and picked the top 7 websites that your band absolutely must take part in if nothing else. 

MySpace (www.myspace.com) – With over 250 million users and growing daily, MySpace is the largest social networking site in the world.  It is almost a requirement for your band to have a MySpace page.  So much in fact, many popular bands are promoting their MySpace pages more than their official websites.  Plus, fans are now more likely to visit a band’s MySpace page instead of their official website to fetch news updates, photos, music, and more.  

Facebook (www.facebook.com) – A close second to MySpace in terms of having an incredibly large volume of users.  Although a little less geared towards music than MySpace, there’s no reason why your band shouldn’t be part of a website boasting around 150 million users.  Facebook provides many services for artists that let them update their fans with ease and simplicity.  Many independent bands overlook the benefits of being on Facebook, don’t be one of them. 

ReverbNation (www.reverbnation.com) – This highly underrated website has a large array of features that range from mailing lists to distribution services.  Although Reverb Nation is not as popular as some of the other music sites, it ranks as one of the most important ones to be on because of its growth capability.  You’d be hard pressed to find another website out there that is willing to share half of it’s advertising revenue with their artists.  Mark my words; THIS is the format of the future record labels with the downfall of CDs and the rise of music sharing.  Get onboard with these guys right now! 

Imeem (www.imeem.com) – Another great social networking site which allows users to upload their favorite music, videos, blogs, photos, and more.  With 25 million visitors per month and 65,000 new registrations per day, it’s important for your band to become a part of this growing community.  They have also reached agreements with major record labels to share advertising revenue with them, which opens up the possibilities for future advertising revenue sharing with independent artists. 

Last.fm (www.last.fm)– With over 21 million users and hot on the heels of Imeem, Last.fm is one of the largest communities of music fans on the Internet.  With Last.fm you can set up your own radio station and add your music to other stations on the website.  The site even helps indie musicians by recommending their music to people based on their current taste in national acts.  This is a great way to leverage the national acts in order to gain new listeners! 

iLike (www.ilike.com) – iLike is a highly interconnected website that links to many other social websites such as MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, and more.  iLike is used in conjunction with many other companies and applications such as Apple’s iTunes.  Once you publish your music on iLike, you can manage your presence on Facebook, Ask.com, Orkut, Bebo, Hi5, and much more.  More than 200,000 of the leading artists today use iLike to manage their presence on the web, so join up and see what they can do for your band. 

PureVolume (www.purevolume.com) – PureVolume has been one of the leaders in music hosting since 2003.  The site carries mostly rock bands, but all genres are welcome.  They offer a paid Pro service that in my opinion isn’t worth it, but the free version should be taken advantage of. 

While this list only includes the top 7, your search for free promotion on the Internet should never stop.  My band took part in MySpace in the website’s early development days.  I could have never seen the growth of MySpace to astronomical proportions all those years ago, so I’m glad I took part in the beginning!  Invest your time researching promotional sites and sign up for as many as possible.  You never know which one is going to be the next MySpace, and getting your band’s name on as many websites as possible will improve your credibility, search rankings, and popularity.  Get busy!

How To Build Augmented Chords In Less Than 10 Minutes

 

Music Theory For The Modern Rockin' Metalhead by Kyle Morrison Lovely

Augmented chords have a unique sound and might require your musical palette to become a little more seasoned before you embrace them.   Augmented chords have an eerie and unsettling sound quality, and they aren’t widely used in popular music.  However, learning how to build augmented chords will prove to be a valuable skill under your belt.  I have broken down and simplified augmented chords so that you’ll be able to construct them in less than 10 minutes. 

Augmented chords are similar to major, minor, and diminished triads in the sense that are made up of 3 notes.  The lowest note is called the root, the middle note is called the third, and the highest note is called the fifth.  While the notes will change depending on which note you start on, the distance between the notes will never change.  The first step in building an augmented chord is to select a starting note, or root.  Once you have picked your root note, follow this formula to figure out the other two notes… 

(Root)  —- 4 half steps up–>  (Third)  —- 4 half steps up —-> (Fifth) 

For this exercise, I’ll pick the root note as C.  Start on the note C and count up 4 half steps:  One (C#), two (D), three (D#), and four (E).  I landed on E, which make that the middle note in the chord, or the third.  Next, start on the third (which was just calculated to be E) and count up 4 half steps:  One (F), two (F#), three (G) and four (G#).  The last note in the chord, or fifth, is calculated as G#. 

The three notes I ended up with are C, E, and G#.  I would call this a C augmented chord because all augmented chords are named after the root note they start on.  If you were to play the notes C, E, and G# at the same time, and you will sound a C augmented chord. 

The easy part about figuring out any augmented chord is that no matter which note you decide to start on, the formula will never change.  Once you figure out the root, the third and fifth are easily calculated by simply sticking to the formula. 

Kyle Morrison Lovely is the author of “Music Theory For The Modern Rockin’ Metalhead: Write Better Songs, Right Now!”  More information can be found at http://www.shattersphere.net.

New Review Of My Book And Travel Wellness Endorsement!

How To Rock Gets Rave Reviews From eBook Guru

Reviews are starting to pour in over my new book How To Rock: The Ultimate Guide To Making It BIG In The Music Business, and the press is hailing it as THE definitive guide to the music business.

“This is one book that I am definitely recommending to anyone who is interested in the making it in the business, and even just to those who are interested in the subject. Kyle’s easy to read writing style, and plain language teaching methods make this THE book for learning the business side of music.”

Trevas Walker
eBook Guru
www.ebookguru.org

Check out the rest of the 5-star review over at theofficial eBook Guru website. Get your copy of How To Rock right here!

Travel Wellness Endorses Kyle

Travel Wellness, the makers of Vocal-Eze Throat spray and many other fine natural products, have added Kyle Morrison Lovely to their list of endorsees. Kyle gave the following testimonial with regards to Travel Wellness’ best selling throat spray called Vocal-Eze…

Singing and screaming heavy metal all day started to take a serious toll on my voice. When water just didn’t cut it anymore, I tried Vocal-Eze and was instantly hooked. Vocal-Eze gave me the endurance I was seeking and saved my voice from the battering I gave it night after night. Vocal-Eze is the only throat spray that is 100% natural, and the only throat spray I fully endorse and recommend for all musicians.

Travel Wellness has created a full line of innovative and essential products for touring musicians. They make everything from professional quality earplugs and throat sprays to microphone disinfectants and immunity defense boosters. Other endorsees include Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Tim McGraw, Joss Stone, Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20), and many more!

Pick up a bottle of Vocal-Eze at any Guitar Center or online straight from Travel Wellness and tell them Kyle sent you!

SUPER MEGA MASSIVE UPDATE!

Hey Everyone!

I wanted to give you all a major update as to what’s been going on in my neck of the woods recently…

I HAVE PUBLISHED 2 BOOKS!

As some of you may know, I just published 2 books titled How To Rock: The Ultimate Guide To Making It BIG In The Music Business and Music Theory For The Modern Rockin’ Metalhead: Write Better Songs, Right Now! via Lulu Publishing. The books are available right over on my official website http://www.kylemorrisonlovely.com in hardcover, paperback, and eBook formats. The books are schedules to hit major bookstores such as Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Amazon.com in the next 6-8 weeks. Check out the covers with a little bit of information and a link to download sample chapters…

How To Rock: The Ultimate Guide To Making It BIg In The Music Business
ISBN-13: 9780557030484

356 pages
View Press Release
Download Press Release (PDF)
Download Sample Chapters (PDF)

Music Theory For The Modern Rockin’ Metalhead: Write Better Songs, Right Now!
ISBN-13: 9780557022915
208 pages
View Press Release
Download Press Release (PDF)
Download Sample Chapters (PDF)

ENDORSED BY TRAVEL WELLNESS

I have recently been endorsed by TravelWellnes, the makers of Vocal-Eze. In addition to making the greatest vocal throat spray in history (Vocal-Eze), TravelWellness has created a full line of innovative and essential products for touring musicians. They make everything from professional quality earplugs and throat sprays to microphone disinfectants and immunity defense boosters. This is some seriously great stuff! Other endorsees include Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Tim McGraw, Joss Stone, Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20), and many more! It’s really an honor to be a part of a company that has such a passion for helping musicians. Check out their full line of all natural products by visiting their website below…

ARTLICES
I’ve got 2 articles published on ArticlesBase called Making It Happen Every Day and Buying And Selling Culture Through Music. If you are a musician and play in a band, check these out by clicking on the links below. You can also subscribe to my article feeds while you are there…

Buying and Selling Culture Through Music

Making It Happen Every Day

You can also download these articles in full over on my website!

BANNERS
If you’d like to increase the chances of Santa bringing you that kick ass new 96″ plasma TV for Christmas, add one of my banners to your MySpace page! They look great…even on the new MySpace 2.0 profiles! =)

BITTORRENT

If you use BitTorrent, help me out by seeding the sample chapters of my book. The torrent file is hosted on Mininova and you can download it here.