Recording Yourself

If you are ever in front of an audience for any reason whether you are performing music, theater, dance or public speaking, it is important to record yourself to see what you are doing right and what can be improved on.  Athletes do this all the time with their trainers.  They go over footage of the game to see where they can improve or get an edge on an opponent.

Here is a great article that talks about the importance of recording yourself:

The Power of Recording Yourself

Article on Duke Ellington Synthesizing Sound

Duke Ellington was one of the best sound designers ever.  He knew how to create different colors of sound using the basic setup of the big band.  Here's a great article that describes his process and shows a musical example.

Article on Duke Ellington Synthesizing Sound

Hip Hop and Calypso Connections

Hip hop and calypso have more in common than people would think.  Both of them focus heavily on lyrical content, especially hip hop from the earlier days.  Old school hip hop was very political and many MCs would criticize the government and society for their inability to alleviate the issues in the inner cities.  Calypso did the same thing.  Many calypsonians would talk about the governments in the Caribbean and folks in society and deride them on the same issues. 

Here is an article I wrote with video links to some of the music that will give a context for these similarities.

Hip Hop and Calypso