Monthly Archives: September 2011

Guitar Idol, the World’s Biggest Guitar Competition announce venue for Live Final

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Planet-Musician

Licklibrary, one of the world’s leading suppliers of online guitar lessons and guitar tuition DVDs has stepped in to find Guitar Idol a venue for the Live Final of the 2011 competition.

Guitar Idol is the world’s biggest and best guitar competition and the much anticipated final will feature some of the world’s hottest up and coming guitarists. The new date for event will be on 4th December 2011 at The Garage in central London.

The re-arranged date for The Guitar Idol Final comes as a result of the cancellation of the major music shows in London in 2010 and 2011. The Licklibrary team, working with Guitar Idol, have decided to stage their own high profile event ‘Licklibrary Live’ which will include the Guitar Idol live final.

To ensure that the event has something for everyone, visitors will be able to see a whole host of live performances from first class guest artists, plus limited spaces will be available in guitar master classes presented by a number of Licklibrary’s highly respected guitar tutors.

The Licklibrary management team, who also publish the free digital magazine iGuitar said ‘we are proud to be able to support the Guitar Idol Final. We know this is going to be a great competition and we are really excited about being able to bring guitar fans a complete day out with the Licklibrary LIVE event.

In addition, as Guitar Idol is an international competition, Licklibrary will broadcast the final live online. Anyone who cannot make the trip to London will still be able to fully participate and cast that all important vote for their favourite competitor.

To find our more and get updates on details of the venue, guest artists, live performances, judges and master classes, please visit the website.

Licklibrary and Guitar Idol look forward to seeing you at the Licklibrary Live experience on the 4th December 2011 at The Garage, London.

Posted in Events, Guitar, News

MOBO Award Winning Songwriter delivers exclusive masterclass at the Institute

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Planet-Musician

The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance was delighted to welcome Mobo award winning vocalist and songwriter Shola Ama to their London facilities this week to deliver an exclusive interactive masterclass to students.

Shola has won a Brit award for ‘Best British Female’ and two MOBO awards for ‘Best Newcomer’ and ‘Best R’n'B Act’. She is a world class recording artist, with a string of top ten hits under her belt, having worked with some of the biggest names in the business. Her debut album ‘Much Love’ has sold over 1.2 million copies worldwide.

Throughout the Masterclass – which was filled to the limit with aspiring songwriter students – Shola talked about her music industry experience and challenged attendees to write a song within a set brief and timeframe. After the event, she commented: “I love meeting and working with such talented and inspiring young students; it is a great opportunity to share what I have learnt from my experiences within the industry with the next generation of aspiring musicians!”

For more information on this event or songwriting courses at the Institute, contact us directly:

Posted in Education, Events, News

iDrum Issue Four Featuring Carmine Appice, Chester Thompson and Thomas Pridgen

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Planet-Musician

iDrum, is back with a packed fourth issue full of exciting video interviews, plus a host of product reviews and of course tuition to inspire every drummer, beginner or advanced.

Carmine Appice – the legendary drummer renowned for his showmanship talks to Stuart Bull about his work with Vanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart, Beck and Ozzy Osborne amongst many. Carmine recalls recording sessions and the evolution of his drum kit in this exclusive interview.

In April 2011 Las Vegas saw a stellar line up of drummers get together for the first annual John Wackerman Drum Festival. Exhibiting their skills were, Chester Thompson, Thomas Pridgen, Kit Chatham, Chad Wackerman and John Wackerman.

Other featured interviews include Bonobo’s Jack Baker, the evergreen Brian Tichy who is currently touring with Whitesnake and the legendary Roy Burns, drummer, educator, historian, innovator and industry figure following his involvement with Aquarian Drumhead Company.

There are over thirty pages of product reviews where you can not only read what the reviewer thought of the product, but also watch videos of the products being put through their paces and hear what they sound like. Products covered in this issue include, Korg Wavedrum, Natal Ash Kit, Sonor Select Force Drums and Gavin Harrison Special Edition snare, Traps E500 e-kit, Meinl Classic Custom Cymbals, Sabian Omni Cymbals, Zildjian Chinas, Remo Powerstroke Pro Heads and Rhythm Tech Hat Trick G2 tambourines.

There is a whole host of CD and DVD reviews covering all musical tastes complete with links so you can easily find out more. Then there is the Tech Sessions – full of inspirational drumming tuition to test and improve your skills, broaden your palette, and develop your style. The Jungle Drummer looks at left arm workouts with Double Snare Drum ideas, Jamie Borden takes 3-Note Groupings to another level, Pete Lockett explores Grooves From Odd Units and Pat Garvey takes a closer look at Double Kick Based Groove Construction. Plus Ed Williams get funky with various hi-hat accents, Tom Chapman continues his introduction to the Cajon and special guest Peter Retzlaff talks about developing speed and swing with a tech session from Hudson Music’s Baby Steps to Giant steps.

iDrum brings you the complete experience, interviews, features, reviews and tuition, all of which is totally interactive and FREE!

Subscribe now at www.idrummag.com/issue4.

Posted in Drums & Percussion, News

Rockschool’s Hot Rock Drum Series Hits The Road With Craig Blundell Drum Clinics

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Planet-Musician

Rockschool, in association with Music Sales and Roland UK, is pleased to announce a three date UK tour of Craig Blundell Drum Clinics. During the workshops Craig will be demonstrating the music available to learn in the Hot Rock Drums Grades 4 & 5 using the Roland TD-4 and TD-9 electric kits as well as the HD1 kit, Octapad and Handsonic.

Rockschool is Europe’s No.1 rock music exam board with qualifications covering the principals of rock music and much more. Music Sales is an international family of wholly owned companies with interests in the five main areas of music including music retail (Musicroom). Roland is a world leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of musical instruments including electronic percussion kits. Craig Blundell with over thirty years playing the drums is currently considered one of the best drumming clinicians and educators around. His stylish performances and own brand of entertainment have won him rave reviews across the world.

The demonstrations are based around the groundbreaking Hot Rock series – this incredibly popular series for Drums covers a wide range of artists. During the sessions Craig will be demonstrating tracks featured in  Grades 4 and 5 Hot Rock books including songs from Metallica / Lars Ulrich (Master of Puppets / Fuel), Foo Fighters / Taylor Hawkins ( All My Life), AC DC / Phil Rudd (Whole Lotta Rosie), Kings of Leon / Nathan Followill (Sex On Fire) and many more.

Simon Pitt, CEO of Rockschool says: ‘Hot Rock is a great way of playing hit tunes in our exams and this series for Drums and Guitar has been going great guns since 2009.  We are delighted to be teaming up with Roland and Music Sales for these clinics.  Craig is a great drummer and we expect these events to be well attended’.

The drum clinics will be held from 3pm to 7pm in the following Musicroom stores: -

  • Bristol: Tuesday 8th November 2011 – Musicroom Bristol, 30 College Street, BS1 5TB
  • Lincoln: Wednesday 9th November 2011 – Musicroom Lincoln, 161-162 High Street, LN5 7AF
  • Edinburgh: Thursday 10th November 2011 – Rae Macintosh, 8 Queensferry Street, EH2 4PA

The HD1 Roland beginner drum kit is convenient, compact and stylish – perfect for home, school and studio use with most components mounted on one stand for easy setup and transportation.

There will be special offers on the Hot Rock series of books in the Musicroom stores on the day of the demonstrations plus an amazing competition to win a HD1 kit and a full set of Grade and Hot Rock books.

For further information visit www.rockschool.co.uk.

Posted in Drums & Percussion, Education, Events

Guitarist and songwriter Bryan Baker hosts exclusive masterclass at the Institute

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Planet-Musician

The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance was proud to welcome one of the most innovative guitar virtuosos, Bryan Baker, to the UK for an exclusive masterclass at their London facility on 8 September 2011.

Bryan’s career has spanned the globe since he began performing at the age of 13. Today he is considered one of the world’s most accomplished virtuoso musicians. Classical, jazz, electronica and most certainly rock, are all genres Bryan has mastered and shares with audiences all over the world.  During the course of this masterclass he covered the principle topics of rhythm, melody and energy, and how they are often overlooked and under-investigated by most musicians. And students were able to learn how to elicit these elements more effectively from their own playing.

Prior to the masterclass, Guitar Techniques conducted a filmed interview with Brian, at the Institute, which will feature on the cover CD of a future edition of the magazine.

Bryan’s LA based rock band Black Baptista has just released its album debut titled “Thread the Needle” July 2011. He has also compiled his experiences in Principles of Music, a book which delves into original and thought provoking methods of improvising and composing, as well as his philosophical look at the totality of a musical experience. He is currently touring the UK and the Netherlands with Bob van Luijt.

For more information on this event or courses at the Institute, contact us directly:

Posted in Education, Events, News

Orange Amplification, Classic Rock and Jeff Beck

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Planet-Musician

Orange Amplification is proud to announce they are the headline sponsor for The Classic Rock Roll Of Honour 2011, in association with currencies.co.uk. The awards over its seven year history have attracted and honoured some of the greatest musicians the world has ever seen, and 2011 will be no different.

Damon Waller, Managing Director said ‘sponsoring The Classic Rock Roll Of Honour 2011 represents a perfect partnership which reflects Orange Amplification’s over forty years of  rocking history in the music industry.

In addition to being the headline sponsor, Orange Amplification will also be sponsoring the coveted Living Legend Award, which this year goes to one of the most influential lead guitarists of all time – Jeff Beck. He is the recipient of six Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, as himself, and also as a member of the Yardbirds. Presenting the award, is the host for the evening, rock god and Kiss frontman, Gene Simmons. This will also be filmed for his Gene Simmons Family Jewels TV Series.

Orange Amplification endorsees Rival Sons and the Black Spiders are nominated, both for the Album of the Year Award, and Rival Sons are also nominated for the Best New Band Award.

You can vote for your favourites at http://awards2011.classicrockmagazine.com/vote.html.

The awards will be held at the renowned Roundhouse in Camden on the 9th November 2011 and Jeff Beck and Rival Sons have been confirmed to play the awards.

To find out more about the Orange gear and their artists nominated for this years awards visit www.orangeamps.com.

Posted in Amplification, Guitar, News

Lick Library ‘The Modes’ features tracks in the style of Slash, Van Halen, Via, Satriani and more

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Planet-Musician

Lick Library have launched a DVD series covering The Modes; one of the cornerstones of music that have been used for centuries as a compositional tool and as a source for improvisation. Understanding The Modes will greatly improve your ability to improvise lead solos as well as increasing you’re your whole musical knowledge so you will be able to improvise, compose and recognise modal music

The guitar style of Slash is used for the Ionian mode lessons including; Ionian Mode patterns, seven three note string patterns, learning how to create chords using this mode, plus play along with three licks in the style of Slash which demonstrate sequences, bending and double stops.

Each DVD in the series features tracks in the style of a different guitarist and includes a guitar jam track and licks in the style of either Slash, Van Halen, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Carlos Santana, Yngwie Malmsteen or Michael Schenker.

Each DVD in the series is only £16.99 (RRP), or get the complete set The Modes 7 DVDs Perfect Partner set (RRP £94.99 a massive saving of over £20.00)

These DVD lessons are taught and presented by renowned guitar teacher Danny Gill, a former pupil of Joe Satriani. To find out more visit www.licklibrary.co.uk today and place your order now. Better still join the community and enjoy discounts on all their products.

Posted in DVD, Education, Guitar

Triumphant BBC Commission for Institute tutor

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Planet-Musician

Maurizio Malagnini, a leading member of the teaching faculty at London’s Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, has recently completed an extremely high-profile commission for the BBC. Maurizio composed all music for the series ‘Body Farm’ (BBC1 9pm Tuesdays), which premiered last week to 5.5 million viewers. To complete the commission, he produced and recorded an incredible 240 minutes (that’s 4 hours!) of music in 91 days.

At the Institute, Maurizio teaches the Arranging and Composing modules on the BMus honours degree programme. Students who enrol on the degree course therefore benefit directly from the teaching and experience of people like Maurizio, who is an outstanding professional musician, composer and educator with an incredible CV.

Paul Kirkham, Director at the Institute, had this to say:

“We are extremely proud of Maurizio who has once again demonstrated what an outstanding musician and composer he is. Although we are a school of contemporary music, we believe it is important that students on our degree courses have the opportunity to learn from and work with classically-trained professionals, as this gives them a unique insight into music and enhances their opportunities for employment post-graduation.”

For more information on this story or details on how to enrol on a course at the Institute, contact the following:

Posted in Education, News

DontCrac[k] Releases the V.I.P. Plug-in Series

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Planet-Musician

Today, DontCrack proudly announces the launch of a new audio plug-ins suite that might change the way you think about audio plug-ins. The DontCrack “V.I.P. plug-in series” aim audio professionals that, in today’s market need simple and easy-to-use audio tools in their everyday tasks. In response to that demand, DontCrack has partnered with leading plug-in designers from around the world to bring a series of high quality plug-ins that offers instant sonic satisfaction while offering a clean interface with only the most essential knobs and switches to quickly tweak sound parameters.

In todayʼs market, music production is constantly evolving. Producers and artists alike need professional sounding plug-ins that are simple and easy-to-use. All too often, precious studio time is wasted struggling with audio plug-ins that are unnecessarily complicated to install and operate. Plug-ins need to inspire creativity, not restrain it !

In response to users demand for high quality and efficiency, DontCrack has developed a new series of plug-ins that might simply change the way we think about audio plug-ins. DontCrack has partnered with leading plug-in designers from around the world to bring you the V.I.P. plug-in series.

This new series delivers the same professional sound you would come to expect from other major plug-in manufacturers, but they are much easier to use. Designed with an emphasis on quality and simplicity, each plug-in has a clean interface with only the most essential knobs and switches. With the V.I.P. plug-in series, dialing in a great sound has never been easier: Simply load the plug- in and turn a knob for instant sonic satisfaction. Installing and authorizing DontCrack plug-ins has also been made incredibly easy for end users to move forward with what they have to do.

And thatʼs not all. If you buy DontCrack plug-ins then you truly are a “Very Intelligent Person”. Each plug-in in the V.I.P. series will cost only $49 individually, but if you purchase the DontCrack “V.I.P. Bundle” you will spend only $489 for the entire collection! If you like to purchase plug- ins one at a time, DontCrack will upgrade you the entire V.I.P. Bundle for free as soon as you accumulate 10 plug-ins in your collection.

You are going to love working with the folks at DontCrack because they are taking it easy on you and your wallet. Once you have purchased or upgraded to V.I.P. Bundle status, all subsequent plug-ins released for the V.I.P. series will be free of charge ! In 2012 we will expand the DontCrack V.I.P. bundle to over 40 plug-ins – and as you are a V.I.P. customer they wonʼt ask you for any more money !

At this time, the DC V.I.P. Bundle contains 20 plug-ins that are :

DC Analoger, DC Brightness, DC Chorus Ensemble, DC Clarisonix, DC Classic Flanger, DC Classic Phaser, DC Cool-Vibes, DC Digital Plate, DC Digital Reverb, DC Dimension 3D, DC Distorted, DC Echoflex, DC Electro Optical, DC Retro Compressor, DC Retro Equalizer, DC Retro Filter, DC Retro Limiter, DC Transcontrol, DC Tremolo Pan, DC Ultramaxit.

To celebrate the event, DontCrack is making the V.I.P. bundle available for only $299 (MSRP $599) from today till Monday, October 10, 2011.

Learn more about the DontCrack V.I.P. Plug-in Series:

www.dontcrack.com/plugins/

System requirements & Compatibility

NO iLok OR eLicenser DONGLE REQUIRED!

Apple System Requirements :

  • Intel Macs running Mac OS 10.5.8, 10.6 and 10.7 Lion
  • AudioUnit – RTAS (Pro Tools) and VST plug-ins.
  • 32-bit and 64-bit are supported.
  • You may authorize up to 5 computers with a simple one-click authorization procedure.
  • Old PPC Macs are not supported.

Windows Minimum Requirements :

  • Pentium® iV 2GHz / Athlon™XP 2GHz with 1Gb of RAM.
  • Windows 7 – XP – Vista are supported (32-bit and 64-bit).
  • VST and RTAS (Pro Tools) plug-ins.
  • 32-bit and 64-bit are supported.
  • You may authorize up to 5 computers with a simple one-click authorization procedure.
Posted in Audio, Plug-Ins

Composer of ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ joins Institute teaching faculty

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Planet-Musician

The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance is delighted to announce the appointment of Pete Cunnah to its already-outstanding teaching faculty.

Pete is a songwriter, producer and musician best known as the lead singer and songwriter with D-Ream whose worldwide hit ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ was recently voted by Time Out as one of the 100 most influential songs of all time. As an artist/producer he’s sold in excess of 3 million records including 12 top 40 singles and two top 5 albums.

He has produced, remixed and written with artists as diverse as Duran Duran, Honeyz, Deborah Harry, Steps, EMF, Graham Gouldman, Rob Davies, Steve Craddock and Motown legend Lamont Dozier. Pete is also a regular guest speaker at BASCA and PRS for Music events.

Pete Whittard, Director at the Institute, had this to say:

‘We are delighted that Pete Cunnah, a professional with an incredible history of success and credits at the highest levels, has decided to join our teaching faculty. Pete brings with him a wealth of industry experience which will be of huge benefit to our students and we are looking forward to working with him into the future.’

For more information on this story on about course sat the Institute, contact the following:

Posted in Education, News