The wind-up metronome, shown here, works well, but a digital metronome (see photo at bottom right) is portable and may be more useful for many musicians.

The metronome is a valuable tool. It’s probably under utilized by most musicians. The benefits are many. The most obvious is the development of an accurate sense of tempo. Tempos tend to shift involuntarily. It’s important to keep a tempo steady for the accuracy and the feel of music in any field.

Metronomes, like everything else, come in many brands, models, and price points. A digital metronome has some advantages over the old wind up, pendulum-style metronome. There is no spring to wear down in a digital metronome. Most digital metronomes fit in your pocket. They all have different features, which you may or may not use. Pick one that suits how you intend to use it. Korg makes a good one. Franz has been a leader in the electronic metronome.

Slow in general is a range of 60 to 72. Medium is 120 to 132. Fast is 160 and up. These are general tempos and are highly subjective. Fast and slow is a lot like being rich – compared to what standard? Even the relativity of this concept of tempo is important.

Some use a metronome to measure and keep track of their technical progress. Others use it as a standard to prepare a song. Perhaps this song will be performed at a setting of 192. Just because you can play a song at 110 doesn’t mean that you can perform it at 192.

Developing an accurate internal metronomic sense is always an advantage and is never a disadvantage.

Visit Chuck Anderson’s website to join his mailing list and learn about upcoming concerts. Take a look at his CDs and educational materials. And of course, become a Facebook fan!

Most women singers need to transpose songs up two or three keys. Collage: "A Tribute to Ella" by Meg Frank

Most singers are familiar with the concept of transposition. This is the process of changing the key of a song. All songs are based in a key. That key can be major or minor. The key in which a song is written is called the original key. From there, any song could be played in any key.

The most common reason for a key transposition is a vocal performance. Since most standard songs were written in a “male” key, female vocalists usually transpose a key two and a half or three and a half steps upward. This could be considered a standard gender transposition. Since individual vocal ranges vary widely, this is certainly not a rule but it holds up pretty consistently.

Transposition software is not necessary. It’s an easier process than you might expect. This is a situation where the math side of music comes into play. Here’s how you do it:

Identify the original key of any song. You can do this by looking at the key signature or by determining the central chord of the song. Decide whether you want to transpose to a higher or to a lower key. Decide how many steps you would like to use for the transposition. In some situations, you may know how many steps and in which direction. In other situations, it’s completely experimental.

Let’s say that you need to transpose something up two whole steps. If it’s chords you have to transpose, change the root of each cord by a distance of two whole steps upward. If the chord was G, then the transposed version is B. If the chord was Am, then the transposed version is C#m. Don’t change the chord type – just the root.

If it’s melody that you have to transpose, move each note up by two whole steps. Keep the original rhythm. The only technical issue deals with the actual notation of the note, ie, sharp or flat. This is ultimately determined by the new key of the transposition.

Transposition can be done at sight by a professional musician. For most musicians, it is usually done in advance of the playing situation.

Visit Chuck Anderson’s website to join his mailing list and learn about upcoming concerts. Take a look at his CDs and educational materials. And of course, become a Facebook fan!

Guitar riffs are developed from scales. Some guitarists have a "trick bag" of riffs they can use in a pinch. Painting: "Jazzy Guitar" by Debra Hurd.

A riff is a short melodic phrase used as a building block in improvisation. All fields that make use of the art of improvisation make use of the “riff.” There are jazz riffs, country riffs, bluegrass riffs, blues riffs, etc.

Riffs can be played on any type of acoustic or electric guitar. Most players develop signature riffs and use them frequently in their solos. Riffs can be learned from other players, copied from recordings, or invented.

All riffs come from scales. Depending on the musical style, a riff will come from a scale typical of that style. Country music uses the Nashville Pentatonic scale. Blues uses the Blues scale. Jazz often uses the Dorian scale. A riff can be developed and used from any of these scales.

I have never copied a riff from any source to use in my own playing. I have always felt that the riff approach to music tends to produce a predictable solo. Many players however find it beneficial to integrate specific riffs into their playing.

The great jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery wrote and recorded a cute song on his Boss Guitar album called “The Trick Bag.” He told me that this song was a reference to any set of personal riffs that guitarists use over and over in their solos.

Visit Chuck Anderson’s website to join his mailing list and learn about upcoming concerts. Take a look at his CDs and educational materials. And of course, become a Facebook fan!

Note from LRG: Derek Sivers, who founded CD Baby, asked 15 musicians to comment on the book “Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity” by Hugh MacLeod. Chuck was among them. Here is a condensed version of his response, which he posted to his site last month.

The book links together creativity and worldly success and makes them seem possibly attainable and not entirely contradictory. The following thoughts were helpful to me as a musician expanding my career and accepting some realities of life and commerce. Each point is followed by my own personal thoughts.

The more original your idea is, the less good advice other people will be able to give you. Follow a strong gut feeling.

I have always sought advice from people on ideas and have always been surprised at what little solid suggestions I’ve received. Not that people haven’t been encouraging, but it’s become increasingly clear that they don’t really understand where I’m going. I don’t know why I expect them too. After all, I’m the one who has lived with these concepts and directions my whole life. I initially resist change and have had to rely on gut instinct to overcome my natural inertia.

The sovereignty you have over your work will inspire far more people than the actual content ever will.

I found this to be the most important concept in the book. I confess that I had never thought of it in this light. I know that my dedication to what I do has, in reality, been as important of a factor in my success as the content itself. I can more or less prove that to myself by observing my success in a wide variety of music-related activities. As soon as I aimed enthusiasm and passion at a musical activity, it succeeded.

The importance of time, effort and stamina in achieving a worthwhile goal.

This has never been an issue for me. I’ve always been a hard worker and have always understood the relationship between time, effort, stamina and achievement.

Nobody suddenly discovers anything – the myth of the overnight success.

I found that it has taken a long time to focus and concentrate on one specific, fulfilling aspect of my work. This focus is leading me in a better and more productive direction. My own career has been filled with multiple activities – all in the same music business but sufficiently scattered to prevent long term growth.

The more compelling the path, the more lonely it is.

If you do what everybody does, the path is crowded. If you totally focus on your actual goals, the path is at least less cluttered. This, however, leads to loneliness. If you can accept the feeling, you can deal with it successfully.

Keep using your box of crayons. You never outgrow the need for creative expression. Don’t let your “adult” voice squash your “wee” voice.

I don’t remember being a child but I’m sure that I was. I know that I am conservative by nature but a risk taker on another level. Accepting my own creativity has become more comfortable as I have matured in both age and artistry.

Make at least one serious attempt to get above the snow line.

I am currently making that serious attempt though I have been a music professional my entire life.

Talent doesn’t require props or pillars.

I’ve always felt that my work in music didn’t need much praise but that never prevented it from being enormously fulfilling. Your plan for getting your work out there has to be as original as the actual work, perhaps more so. This would be a tribute to planning, niche marketing and follow through in areas that are not necessarily your strength or even your interest.

Being born into a generation of non-computer users, it’s always been a puzzle as to how I could get my work “out there.” The “new music industry” seems to be offering a model by which I can get my work out to Japan to Europe to India and beyond. Though I entered this phase of my career kicking and screaming, I am now embracing it fully.

Learn to draw the “red line” that separates what you are willing to do from what you are not willing to do.

The biggest challenge for me was the decision as to what not to do. I could always do a great variety of musical work but only now am I drawing the all important “red line.”

Adapt to the changing world and don’t fight it in an effort to protect the world you knew and felt safe in.

This spells “Internet” and all of its ramifications.

Sing in your own voice.

I have never tried to emulate any other players and I think that it’s served me well.

Diluting your product to make it more “commercial” will just make people like it less.

When I finally decided to embrace what I did as “art,” the commercial dilemma faded away.

Nobody cares. Do it yourself.

I’m saddened by the fact that “nobody cares” but somehow this encourages me to not wait and hope, which I spent too much of my life doing.

Worrying about “commercial” versus “artistic” is a waste of time.

This is one of many wastes of time but an important one to remember. As Bill Evans, my favorite jazz pianist said, “In the long run, we must accept what we do as art. We must play what pleases us. Don’t chase players, don’t chase styles and don’t chase audiences. Play what you love to play and then go find the people who love what you love.”

Write from the heart.

This is perhaps a key to life as well as a key to unleashing personal creativity.

Don’t need approval, don’t be desperate. You already have the power. You don’t need to get it from anyone.

Dealing with the decision-makers in music is enough to shake anyone’s confidence. I try to find that place that presents simply and clearly who I am and what I do. I leave the rest of up to hard work and endurance.

Value the power of the internet and its role in the future.

As Michael Sembello (writer of Maniac from the film “Flashdance”) said to me, “Rome has finally fallen and we once again have control thanks to the internet.”

If you want to do anything with your music that is more than pure aesthetics, you will need to set aside a little bit of time - each and every day - to do a marketing task.

No matter what your involvement is in music, marketing needs to be a way of life. This is true more for the musician seeking to make a living in music but it generally applies to anyone with goals other than pure aesthetics.

What is marketing? Marketing is the entire range of activities that involve increasing your exposure in the market that you have chosen. This exposure then needs to lead to sales. These sales might be for CDs, DVDs, digital products, books, concerts, merchandise etc. It includes but is not limited to advertising, promotion, public relations, sales, endorsements, articles, interviews, establishing contacts, etc.

A typical musician runs hot and cold in this regard. He or she gets enthused about marketing and works very hard…for a couple of weeks. Then, nothing, for months.

What you need to do is to set aside time every day for something… anything…that would promote you, your work, and your products. It’s a good idea to follow some simple advice from the exercise and diet worlds. Focus on maintenance. In other words, marketing becomes a part of your lifestyle, rather than an emergency event.

Many find a marketing calendar helpful. This is simply a pre-planned scheduling tactic for getting things done in a timely fashion—send out this announcement on this date, meet with so and so on that date, etc. Continue to add things to your calendar that will drive your career forward and create sustainable activity.

It’s always important to remember that music remains a business. It may be art, but it is a business if you want it to be your living. Contrary to popular dreams, the phone doesn’t ring because you’re good at your instrument or an excellent vocalist. It rings because people know who you are, how to reach you, and because you’ve created an appeal. Yes, in the long run, appeal is even more important than how fast you play, how much you know, or how well you sing.

The more you do, the more you will develop an attitude, a momentum. Soon, the process will be natural. It becomes something that you don’t even have to think about. When this happens and continues to happen, you’re on your way!

Note from LRG: Read more about marketing and the business of music:

• A Manager to Manage Your Tweets
• Get a Real Job! (Playing Music)
• Making  a Living Performing Music
• Making Money from Your Music by Giving it Away

The nylon-string guitar is most associated with classical music, but it is also used, often with a microphone, in bossa nova and jazz. Painting: "Cowboy Guitar" by Rick Kersten.

The nylon string guitar offers an entirely different sound and touch than the acoustic or the electric guitar. There is an entire methodology of technique for the instrument.

Although the nylon-string guitar is most associated with the classical guitar technique as championed by Andres Segovia, it has been used successfully in Brazilian bossa nova and in jazz for many years. Well-known proponents of this style were Charlie Byrd, noted for his early work playing the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, and more recently, the jazz guitarist Gene Bertoncini.

The advantage of the instrument is a beautiful, delicate tone. This is also perhaps its drawback. The percussive potential is limited except in the Flamenco styles. It is certainly not considered a powerful instrument.

Amplification, however, can be accomplished in several ways. There are pickups that can be installed in the guitar as well as pickups that straddle the center hole. In both cases, there are amplifiers made specifically for this instrument and this sound. You can also close-mic the guitar.

Legendary pianist Bill Evans said you should play the music that pleases yourself. Painting: "Submerged (Bill Evans)" by Iris Lavy.

The guitar world has always been obsessed with who is faster or better. The reality is that all good players are fast and knowledgeable about chords, improvisation, and harmony. So speed and knowledge, are, in themselves, not that meaningful.

What makes one player different from another is not the external factors of technique but the unique projection of personality that comes through the music. Just as you meet one person that you like and another person that you don’t like so much, the audience is only affected by their own individual response to a player.

Does the player move them or not? After all, the audience is not in a position to judge a player on the basis of his or her technique or knowledge. The audience can only react. This is ultimately a good thing.

Bill Evans said something that I always admired. He said you must please yourself. Play what pleases you. You can’t chase players or styles or trends. In essence, he was saying: find your own voice.

From a marketing point of view, you have to find an audience that likes your style, your sound, your personality. If you become your own unique self, you’ll never be disappointed with the results!

Note from LRG: Read more about developing your unique voice:

• Waiting Til You Have Something To Say
• Audience Connection is Barometer of Success

James Taylor's "One Man Band" performance at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, Mass., was a great example of the way "small" can result in a "big" musical experience. Photo: PBS.org

This past Christmas I received a gift of a James Taylor DVD called “One Man Band.” This recent recording was filmed at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in July 2007. In this performance, JT goes back to his roots – a guitar, a voice, and an audience. Watch a portion of the DVD here (this contains nice clips of JT talking) and watch his full performance of “Something in the Way She Moves.”

I’ve heard many James Taylor performances but this is, by far, my favorite. I think he is at his best when he works, in his words, “small.” Piano, guitar, and voice sustained the entire show. The sound was magnificent, the dialogue clever, and the theater was intimate and beautiful.

He seems to be happy and content at this point in his life. A good marriage and a solid career with creative freedom no doubt contribute significantly to the mood that he projects.

If you want to hear a singer-songwriter with great songs, a unique guitar style, and a compelling voice, One Man Band[CD + DVD]is something you may want to own.

If you don't want to work with a music teacher, at least consult one about which music books, DVDs, and other materials will be most useful to you.

I wrote a post back in September about my views on using music books and DVDs in place of a teacher. I said that these tools are great to use as supplements, but that I advise all learners, particularly beginners, to find a good teacher.

I was asked to revisit this topic, as there are lots of people who are committed to learning an instrument without a teacher. So, my advice to someone who is looking for materials is to: get some guidance about materials from a good teacher! The human element is essential in learning music. A good teacher should be able to point you to reliable and accurate materials such as useful books, DVDs, etc.

I can only write about my own materials. If you were interested in learning about Rock and Blues improvisation, I have a book for that. If you need to understand the notes on the neck or how to strum the guitar, I have books for those topics. I cover fingering for the guitar in a downloadable DVD called “Navigating the Jazz Guitar” available at Mike’s Master Classes. There are many more resources available if you know where to look. Check with a teacher on what materials would be best for you.

Beyond that, it’s trial and error. Most self-taught players have spent a lot of time copying things from recordings. Though I’m not a fan of that approach, it certainly has benefits for the development of your ear.

You will benefit to some degree by just playing – playing anything. The biggest negative issue is developing bad habits, which can be difficult to break in the future.

Note from LRG: For more on teachers and teaching materials, read the following:

• Selecting a Music Teacher
• Find a Music Teacher by Seeking Satisfied Students
• When “Tell, Don’t Show,” Makes Sense
• Do Online Guitar Lessons Deliver What They Promise?
• Wes’ Words to a 16-Year-Old Play Out Today