music & art – Page 9

[5in5] tomorrow…

The five in five songwriting project, referred to on this blog as [5in5], begins tomorrow. If you would like to be a part of the ~~madness~~ fun and you have not already let me know then just leave a comment on this post saying “I’m IN!!” or something equivalent.

If you need a few more details about this songwriting project or want to see who will be writing with us then check out THIS POST to catch up.

Also, part of the project is putting your song out there for people to hear, so please email me a daily link to your song. You can contact me HERE and let me know where your song is posted (i.e. youtube, facebook, a personal blog, etc.)

I hope you’re excited and ready to write (that’s actually the focus of this project)

As a BONUS this year, you can receive a daily update during [5in5] detailing which songs were written & where you can go to hear them. Simply click this link – tinyletter.com/danieljohn – & put in your email address. I promise you will not want to miss these updates!!

I leave you now with this quick list of ideas to help get your creativity flowing – see you all tomorrow!!

Ada’s Piano Recital

Proud of my daughter, Ada & all the hard work that she put into this performance!

Also, if you listen closely, you can hear her little sister, Macy, singing along.

the 2012 edition of [5in5]

As I said Friday, [5in5] officially begins May 14th-18th, 2012!!

This year I’m hoping to have many people from all over the country & globe join us for the 2012 edition of [5in5].

Before I give you the rules, you are going to want to sign up for this event.

To do so simply comment on this post, email me, or send a smoke signal (if you’re so inclined) telling me that you’re in!

Now for the rules of [5in5] (via Aaron Ivey’s 7in7 rules):

1) you must start and finish 1 song every day for 5 days.
the goal is not to write 5 amazing songs”¦ it’s simply to start and finish a song to stretch your creativity and discipline as a writer.

2) old material cannot be used.
you can’t brush off the dust from an old song, or one that was started a while ago. it must be a brand new song. phrases & words from old journals can be used, but old songs or uncompleted songs cannot be used.

3) co-writing with a person (sorry no animals this year) is completely legit.
this really helped me get started last year and is something we highly encourage you to try at least once.

4) post the song in some public forum.
most people post their songs on a blog, youtube, facebook, soundcloud, etc. part of the beauty of 5in5 is forcing yourself to be vulnerable with your writing by putting it out there. plus, we’re all in this together.

5) if you’re on twitter, we can easily follow each other by using the hashtag #5in5.

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MUSIC NEWS
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1) guess what?? this spring/early summer I will be releasing an EP of new instrumental music!!

I have been writing for a couple months & have begun laying down tracks for this EP.

more details about this project will be coming VERY soon!

2) currently I have a video theory course I am developing for YOU.

this will be due out in early fall 2012.

while this initially may not sound super exciting, I can guarantee that this series will be one of the most beneficial courses you can watch & immediately apply to your playing.

I am going to personally walk you through a ton of secrets I have picked up from great musicians + answer any questions you might have, so start thinking about what you would like to ask.

woohoo!! I’m super-jazzed just thinking about how this is going to help you grow…

stay tuned… we are getting ready to have some serious fun!!

[5in5] – save the date!

This will be quick today, but I wanted to let you know that we will be having the [5in5] songwriting challenge again this year!

Anyone can participate, but you have to commit to writing all 5 days.

We will be holding this challenge May 14th-18th, 2012, so save the date!!

Check back on Monday for all the details. I promise that you are not going to want to miss this!

PLUS I have some exciting MUSIC NEWS that I cannot wait to tell you about!!

See you Monday…

Our Happy Day

I wrote this song for my sister’s birthday and have been waiting to give this to her. Her birthday is the 15th of February which is the day AFTER that other holiday in February. This song is to celebrate her! (but I do hope you enjoy it too!).

If you enjoyed this song, head over to facebook.com/danieljohnmusic & “Like” the page to be notified when new songs are posted!

2 Minute Piano Lessons “The CHORD [part 2]”

…and now part 2 of “The Chord” from our continuing 2 Minute Piano Lessons.

This week you will add the Am7 & G Power Chords giving you the 4 most common chords you find within pop music.

If you missed last week’s lesson, then you will want to go back to pick up the C & G Power Chords we learned last week.

Thanks for watching & if you have any questions or suggestions, please leave a comment below.

2 Minute Piano Lessons – “The CHORD” [part 1]

I can’t tell you how IMPOSSIBLE it has been to get this video posted for you, BUT… it’s finally up & I think you will really enjoy this lesson!

The goal of this video is to teach you the basics of playing a POWER CHORD (which I’m calling The Chord).

Power chords are normally reserved for electric guitar players, but we are borrowing this idea to immediately enhance your playing.

After you learn this concept your playing will sound fuller, you will have confidence when you play an uptempo song, and it will cause you to have less unnecessary movement on the keyboard. I promise that with practice, this will dramatically change how you play a fast song. I guess what I’m saying is you’re about to add “AWESOME-SAUCE” to your skill set. It’s going to be fantastic!!

And, if you have any questions….PLEASE ASK. You can leave them in the comments below & I will be sure to respond quickly!