Posts in Essay
What is Lo-Fi?
What is Lo-Fi?

The events of the last two years have revealed a dichotomous new musical era. In one way, technology has never been more prevalent. At the same time, people have never been more isolated. But that reality has a silver lining: it’s helped create a renewed love affair with Lo-Fi.

The crackle and delightful imprecisions of the music of the past is drawing millions of new listeners. In this article, we’ll tell you exactly what Lo-Fi means, why it’s so popular and where it came from … as well as where you can find the best examples of these kinds of sounds.

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EssayJake UittiYamaha
What’s the Difference Between Alto, Tenor and Bass Trombones?
What’s the Difference Between Alto, Tenor and Bass Trombones?

Trombones are one of the more interesting and unique instruments that you’ll see anywhere. Unlike saxophones, pianos, guitars or virtually any other musical instrument, trombones have no reeds, keys or strings. With trombones, it’s all about moving their long slides.

That said, like trumpets, cornets and other brass instruments, the sound that trombones make is largely dependent upon the intricate tubing that comprises the horn. Also significant to the instrument’s sound is its bell size and the shape of its bore (interior chamber). In this article, we’ll explore the things that differentiate the three most popular types of trombones: alto, tenor and bass. But before we do, let’s talk about some of their history and commonalities.

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EssayJake UittiYamaha
Key Figure: The Piano Takes Center Stage
Key Figure: The Piano Takes Center Stage

Music history is rife with piano-playing frontpeople of all kinds. There is, of course, the tradition of pianist singer-songwriters like Carole King, Billy Joel, and Fiona Apple. At the same time, the piano is the main instrument of arena act vocalists like Chris Martin of Coldplay and Queen’s Freddie Mercury. All these artists take advantage of their piano prowess to craft their songs. Yet they also command the spotlight because of their skills on the keys. Now, there’s a new generation carrying the torch, bringing the legacy of piano-playing frontpeople into new genres and formats.

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EssayJake UittiRoland
Touring While Black
Touring While Black

Hello, my name is Jake Uitti. I’m 38 years old and I live in Seattle. I grew up in Princeton, New Jersey. I am 25% French, 50% Finnish, and 25% a mix of Irish and other European ethnicities. I hesitate to say I’m “white” because I believe the term is a stupid catchall that seems more in opposition to Blackness than a race itself. It’s a lazy, reductive idea, to me.

Black, on the other hand, is a necessary term as the result of a sad past. Many Black Americans don’t know their family’s heritage like I know my own. They can’t trace their family tree’s roots back as far as I can because those roots for many were cut, broken, and stolen as the result of the slave trade, which was a global problem made especially acute in America.

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EssayJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine
The Pros and Cons of Discs vs. Downloads for Console Games
The Pros and Cons of Discs vs. Downloads for Console Games

These days, gamers have a lot of options at their fingertips, from myriad characters to emulate, to which systems to choose, to whether their quests will happen at home or via mobile devices. But there’s another big choice entering the gaming ecosystem lately and that’s whether to purchase game titles as traditional physical discs or as digital downloads.

Just as some music lovers want vinyl albums or CDs and others don’t, there are no clear-cut “winners” or “losers” here. Both discs and digital games cost about the same, and they provide a gaming experience and interface that is often identical. Yet while physical discs still represent most sales, more and more gamers (and gaming console manufacturers) are moving toward downloadable cloud-based offerings. In this article, we’ll take a look at the reasons why, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each format.

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EssayJake UittiYamaha
Track Talk: “Prince Ali” by DCappella
Track Talk: “Prince Ali” by DCappella

There are a few ways to change the game. One option is to find a magic lamp and summon a genie: a big blue friend who can flash and make dreams come true. Another is to take a tried-and-true musical form like a cappella and marry it to cutting-edge technology from Roland. The result could be sounds no one’s ever heard before. The latter is what composer Deke Sharon, singer Antonio Fernandez, and the members of Disney a cappella group, DCappella, accomplished. They created a dubstep rendition of the timeless Disney song, “Prince Ali,” from the 1992 animated classic Aladdin.

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EssayJake UittiRoland
What’s the Difference Between Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxophones?
What’s the Difference Between Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxophones?

If you’ve ever watched a horn section onstage, you may have noticed that the sax players are sometimes playing different-sized instruments, even ones that have different shapes. On occasion, they even swap out their saxes from song to song.

Ever wonder why? If you guessed it’s because each type of saxophone makes a slightly different sound, you’d be right, but the differences don’t end there. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what differentiates the four most common types of saxophones, but first let’s talk a little about the history of this fascinating and exceptionally versatile instrument.

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EssayJake UittiYamaha
The Kinsey Collection Celebrates Black Artists
The Kinsey Collection Celebrates Black Artists

It began with a third-grade homework assignment for Khalil Kinsey: build your family tree. But Khalil remembers that he couldn’t go far back in his family’s lineage. Because of the slave trade, those records don’t exist. For millions of people brought to America as slaves and their descendants, their family lineage was obliterated. “I can still remember the feeling that I had as a young boy,” Khalil says. “Without having those types of answers and feeling inadequate in comparison with my classmates.”

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EssayJake UittiAAA Journey
Songwriters Allison Russell, Charo, Chris Ballew, and More Share Musical Christmastime Traditions
Songwriters Allison Russell, Charo, Chris Ballew, and More Share Musical Christmastime Traditions

Ever wonder what some of your favorite musicians’ holiday traditions are?

Us, too!

That’s why we reached out to a number of those amazing, heartfelt songwriters we adore to get a little window into how they celebrate the holidays. Whether it be caroling around the fireplace or baking cookies for the family, we wanted to see what folks like Allison Russell, Charo, Big Freedia, and Chris Ballew might do around the 25th of December.

So, without further ado, let’s look get some musical holiday stories!

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EssayJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine
Here’s What the Metaverse Might Look Like
Here’s What the Metaverse Might Look Like

Coined originally by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash, the “Metaverse” is simply a term for an alternate digital world — think virtual reality headsets and total computer immersion, a potential successor to the internet and its clunky web browsers. It’s a concept since expanded on by movies and video games such as Second Life, which was just that — a simulated digital second life — and now even tech companies.

Here are seven memorable films that give us a glimpse at what that future could look like.

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EssayJake UittiYamaha
Jason Boland and Shooter Jennings Talk Boland’s New Concept LP, ‘The Light Saw Me’
Jason Boland and Shooter Jennings Talk Boland’s New Concept LP, ‘The Light Saw Me’

The first time musicians Jason Boland and Shooter Jennings met was a night to remember.

The two were each set to play with their bands at a show in Wichita Falls, Texas. But Jennings and his crew were delayed. In fact, they’d been picked up for possession of pot when they crossed the Baylor County line on the way to the gig, Jennings explains. They were “thrown in jail” and later released by a judge in time to still make the performance. As Boland remembers, the tardy entrance gave Jennings a whole lot of “cool points” and gave the night a little extra energy. (Jennings chuckles about the experience today.)

Ever since then, the two have been friends. Together, they plan video game sessions as well as musical ones. It’s a relationship born from collaboration—Boland was the first person to ever ask Jennings if he’d produce his record. Today, Jennings has earned Grammys for his production work. And now the two are set to release their latest collab, Jason Boland & The Stragglers’ new conceptual LP, The Light Saw Me, which is out Friday (December 3).

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EssayJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine
Relive the Music of Sharon, Lois, and Bram with the Trio’s New Live LP
Relive the Music of Sharon, Lois, and Bram with the Trio’s New Live LP

For those who grew up in the 1980s, the names Sharon, Lois & Bram have a special meaning. The trio, which first rose to fame in their home country of Canada and then later in the United States, created the acclaimed television program The Elephant Show, which featured the three, and an unnamed person inside an elephant costume, playing music and learning life lessons. Think Mr. Rogers with more settings and songs. Thanks to the show, which became a hit in reruns in the U.S. on Nickelodeon after its five seasons aired up north, the three were later made members of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor. (Sadly, Lois Lilienstein died in 2015.) Fans of the trio, both young and old, can now climb into a time machine and enjoy live versions of their biggest hits on the new LP, Sharon, Lois & Bram Best of the Best Live, which is out today (November 19).

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EssayJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine
Seven Thanksgiving Movie Scenes to Stream This Season
Seven Thanksgiving Movie Scenes to Stream This Season

Thanksgiving is a time of family, food and remembering what you’re grateful for. It’s also a time to stream your favorite flick and bask in how other people celebrate the holiday. What could be better than that? Nothing — except doing so with a high-quality audio system, of course.

So turn the volume up a little, sit back in your sofa or favorite easy chair and enjoy these classic Thanksgiving movie clips.

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EssayJake UittiYamaha
Behind The Song Lyrics: “Unaware,” Allen Stone
Behind The Song Lyrics: “Unaware,” Allen Stone

Golden-voiced soul singer Allen Stone remembers the day he wrote the lyrics for his song, “Unaware.” It was ten years ago in Los Angeles in a recording studio with just one other collaborator. At the time, while he was happy about the work, it was also just one of about 25 songs Stone had put together for his debut self-titled 2011 LP. Funny how something that seems relatively unremarkable can turn into a life-changing moment.

For Stone, who has been thinking about “Unaware” and other early compositions due to the forthcoming release of his latest LP, the acoustic APART, on November 12, the heartfelt, emotive track has since changed his life.

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EssayJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine