IntellectualMusician.com » James Mulvale

Killer Finger Exercises 1

James Mulvale — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:01:47 +0000

Here is a couple of finger exercises for guitar / bass that I was taught years ago and I still swear by them now. Although they do not sound particularly melodic they are great for coordinating your fingers, especially your little finger. (more…)

Get your licks and riffs up to speed!

James Mulvale — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 17:04:24 +0000

Whenever I’m learning a new lick, riff or scale, I always find it best to start off slowly then gradually get faster until I can play it faster than actually I need to, then it’s always a relief to play it at the correct speed 8). To help you do this, I’ve put together a range of drum backing tracks in various time signatures for you to practice your licks and riffs over.

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Home Recording Techniques Part II

James Mulvale — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:51:07 +0000

Right, where were we?

In the previous part, we laid down a very simple MIDI drum part and bass line for a 6 bar ‘jingle’. Next it’s time to get some real instruments on there. For this example I am going to use my guitar, I have plugged my guitar into the back of my PC through the Microphone-In port using an 1/4 inch to 1/8th inch mono adapter.

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More Music Stationary (Manuscript / SATB / Piano / Strumming Charts)

James Mulvale — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 02:52:52 +0000

Here’s some more ready to print Word document music templates I made. Enjoy

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Blank Stationary for Guitar / Bass / Mandolin / Banjo

James Mulvale — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 15:07:50 +0000

Here is some handy stationary I made which you can print off. They are all in Word 2000 (Doc) format and should be ready to go. The examples here are filled in, but the downloads are completely blank. (more…)

How Music Works part I

James Mulvale — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 18:58:05 +0000

Music is mysterious stuff. It’s completely invisible. You can’t smell it, taste it or feel it in a normal sense, yet it can touch you. Fair enough you can hear it, but what makes music different from anything else you may hear? After all, it uses the same parts of your body you would use to detect a barking dog, or an engine starting. We have evolved ears as a kind of early warning system for our eyes - We will hear a bus coming before we see it, so we’re less likely to get run over by it. Music was not ‘planned’ by nature, and has no real purpose in our survival except for what we have made of it since we discovered it. (more…)

Home Recording Techniques part I (Setup/Sequencers/MIDI basics)

James Mulvale — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 15:04:57 +0000

As you may be aware, the whole process of music production has taken a giant leap forward in the last 10 years. This is all due to the increase in computer technology, and we’d be silly not to take advantage of it. The few times I have paid for recording sessions, I have never ever been happy with the result. I put this down to a few factors.. (more…)