Want to Win American Idol like Phillip Phillips? Think Live Acoustic Guitar Shows!

Hmmm…how do I win at the American Idol or America's Got Talent try outs?  How do I win American Idol? What tricks and techniques can give me the advantage? Well, it might be a good idea to take a look one of the latest American Idol winners’ audition and performances—Phillip Phillips.  

Let’s start with the audition. Phillip came in and did his audition with just his vocals to begin with, as requested by the judges. They thought that was good, and then they asked him to strap on that acoustic guitar he brought.  If you watch Phillip audition for American Idol, you see that when he put on that acoustic guitar and sang, THAT is when the judges really got into the performance, and then put him through to Hollywood. Was the vocal performance his key? Probably.  But did the acoustic guitar give him an edge. Absolutely.  That’s when Jennifer Lopez noticed the rhythm, liked how he started moving his feet and along with the guitar strums, etc. Then, during the whole competition, and at the end, most of Phillip’s best moments, when he got the most response from the audience was when he used his guitar.  And acoustic guitar wasn’t something new to Phillip—he’d been playing since about age 14, and after a while, formed a band where he was playing acoustic guitar and singing as much as possible.

This live acoustic guitar and singing experience no doubt made it much easier to audition and eventually win American Idol. Why? Because 1) the guitar often helps ‘amplify’ expression as it adds to the overall vocal performance, 2) that live stage experience, playing in bars and restaurants, churches, etc., getting comfortable in front of a crowd gave him the confidence he needed.  And to think he used to never let anyone hear him sing! He was kind of shy about the whole thing!

Can you see a pattern? Does this sound like you?  Phillip was shy, too, but as his bio states, built his confidence up through live acoustic guitar shows. And lots of pro musicians, people that have ‘made it’ will tell you the same thing: that live performance experience is a must if you want to win or ‘make it’—it strengthens you in so many ways.  Yes, there are tricks and techniques, even ‘secrets’ to auditioning well and winning competitions like American Idol, but the good news here is you don’t have go and try to search for it.  There is now a book called Acoustic Guitar Money that will teach you EXACTLY how to get that good live acoustic guitar experience and train yourself by playing acoustic guitar and singing, and how to make some good regular money doing it, with bonuses like a Quick Start Guide, and Vocal Tips!  You are no different than Phillip. You have the same opportunity to change your life. All you have to do is learn a few things, practice, and soon you’ll be living your dreams! You CAN do this. Go for it!

At Acoustic Guitar Money, we are dedicated to helping the independent guitar player and other musicians learn some of the best ways to support themselves and reach their music goals as fast as possible. Contact us at support@acousticguitarmoney.com  with any questions you may have. We’re musicians, too, and we’re here to help. 

Acoustic Guitar Money

http://www.acousticguitarmoney.com 

Solo Acoustic Guitar Shows: One of the Best Kept Secrets to Making Good Money Playing Guitar

How can I make some good money doing what I love to do: play guitar? If you’ve ever said that to yourself, you’re not alone. Tons of working guitar players playing in low paying bands, even those that play guitar for a hobby often wonder how some guitar players make a lot of money, but most don’t make much at all. Obviously, if you’re in an established, popular band, it’s a lot easier—but those gigs are hard to come by. So how can the rest of us guitarists make a little more? One of the best answers I’ve found is playing solo acoustic guitar shows.

Believe it or not, some restaurants and bar owners will pay $100 to $300 a night for someone to just play acoustic music in the background. Other bars, restaurants, and party throwers want more of an entertainer playing acoustic guitar and singing lots of cover songs and they’ll pay the same or higher. There is definitely a market for the solo acoustic guitar player and a lot of people will hire an acoustic player faster than a band or DJ because it costs them a lot less and does the same job of entertaining, or better. And, because of the economy, there’s actually a trend happening where more bars, restaurants, etc., are beginning to prefer solo acoustic guitar over bands and DJ’s as the best way to have good live entertainment while keeping costs down. And if you do it right, playing acoustic guitar and singing can make you $100 to $300 a night 3-5 nights a week. Not bad, huh? Beats the heck out of flipping burgers! And since you’re playing solo, you keep all the money! Even better!

You do need to know a few tricks and techniques, though, to stay booked and make money consistently. Well, guess what? There’s an online book for that! It’s called Acoustic Guitar Money, written by someone who has learned those tricks and techniques and is currently, successfully, and consistently playing solo acoustic guitar shows and making very good money every week. Maybe you just need some extra money to pay off bills, put yourself through school, raise money for a project, or take a vacation. If you play guitar, Acoustic Guitar Money could be the best, most enjoyable way ever to make that extra money! It comes complete with tips on selecting the right equipment at the lowest prices, song selection, how to build a show, how to play almost any song with 5 chords or less, a secret script that you can use to run a successful show, where to get free online acoustic guitar lessons, and more. And it comes with a 60 Day Money Back Guarantee.

If you’re already playing solo acoustic guitar gigs, there’s a good chance you’ll learn a trick or two that’ll help you make more money and have more fun. Try it and see if it works for you. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. And you have our guarantee, so there is no risk.
At Acoustic Guitar Money, we are dedicated to helping the independent guitar player and other musicians learn some of the best ways to support themselves and reach their goals as fast as possible. Contact us at support@acousticguitarmoney.com with any questions you may have. We’re musicians, too, and we’re here to help.

Acoustic Guitar Money
http://www.acousticguitarmoney.com
support@acousticguitarmoney.com

There HAS to BE a BETTER WAY to Make Money With My Guitar!

If you’re a working guitarist, you’ve probably said this to yourself or screamed it out loud, right after working all night playing in your band and coming home with a hundred bucks or less. If you go in to set up at 6pm for example, and don’t get home until 4 am, that’s a minimum of 10 hours, or like $10 an hour, and some gigs you have to set up earlier and get home even later, which leaves you with less than $10 an hour. Ouch. There has to be a better way. Well, unless you ‘hit the bigtime’, write a hit song immediately, or join a better band, you’re pretty much stuck. Unless, of course, you consider live acoustic guitar shows…

 

Why live acoustic guitar shows and why acoustic guitar music? Well, it’s cheaper for a bar or restaurant to hire you instead of paying for a whole band. And there are lots of places where an acoustic player can get a gig where a band cannot. Plus, there are several very good income-oriented reasons to start or play more solo acoustic guitar gigs, and you usually don’t have to quit your band to do it. Acoustic guitar shows at restaurants, bars, parties, etc., usually pay $100 to $200 for about 3 hours of actual work, without all that equipment set up, sound check, and other ‘work’ usually associated with a regular band gig. And there’s no exhausting late night or morning break down of all the gear when you’re already exhausted. Yay!

 

Acoustic setups and break downs usually take no more than 20 min or so, and for maybe 4 hours of total work, including travel time, at least you’re at around $25 an hour or more, and you get home a LOT earlier. Hmmm…less work and more than doubled my money per hour…YEAH…that makes sense! And you can just add these acoustic gigs to your regular band gigs for extra money. Or you may want to just do solo acoustic gigs full time! I do it all the time, but some of my friends play 5-7 days a week and make a killing! Playing acoustic guitar shows could a guitar player’s best kept money-making secret!

 

So how do you go about playing acoustic guitar and singing live and making good money on a regular basis? Well, there is actually a book called Acoustic Guitar Money that tells you everything you need to know to get started fast and create solid weekly income at $25 tp $50 an hour or more, plus tricks and techniques to help you make more money if you’re already playing solo acoustic shows. You don’t have to feel like you’re poor just because you love playing guitar–there IS a better way to make money with your guitar. Check out Acoustic Guitar Money and see for yourself. I think it even comes with a money back guarantee!

 

Acoustic Guitar Moneyhttp://www.acousticguitarmoney.com

Yes, You CAN Make Good Money with Your Guitar!

So many people say ‘Ah, you can’t make any money playing guitar–are you crazy?’ And, well, if you don’t know how or where to apply your skills, they’re right. But with a few simple techniques, you can literally go from strumming an acoustic guitar in your bedroom to playing live, paying gigs every week. How? What techniques? Is there a guitar guide of some kind to tell me how? Read on…

This week I will make more money playing acoustic gigs that I do playing in my band. Yeah. It works. Why acoustic guitar shows? Well, it’s cheaper than hiring a band for the bar or restaurant who’s paying you, and if you can play / sing, you get to keep all the money instead of having to split it with several people. And usually what works for song selection is stuff you’ve probably played for years or heard on the radio, etc–mostly pretty simple stuff! So the songs are pretty easy, set up is simple, minimal equipment needed, and you can make anywhere from $25 to $50 an hour or more, not counting tips. Hell. Yeah. Do that three to five times a week and you’ve got a good, fun, money making system, playing guitar. Awesome.

So what techniques? How do you do this? How do you find the good gigs like that? Good questions. That is why I wrote this acoustic guitar guide with instructions on exactly how to do it, fast. Or if you’re already playing acoustic guitar shows, you’ll learn some awesome ways of putting together a better show, vocal techniques, how to train for competitions, how to make more money than you thought possible, and a lot more. And it comes with a 60 Day money back guarantee. How about that?

Even if you don’t play guitar, you can do this. All it takes is one person to sing and one to play an melodic instrument like a guitar or keyboard and you’re set. For more information, check us out at http://www.acousticguitarmoney.com

Acoustic Guitar Money

http://www.acousticguitarmoney.com

Looking for Opportunities In The Music Industry? Think Acoustic Guitar!

Yes, You CAN Find Jobs and Other Opportunities in The Music Industry--By Playing Acoustic Guitar Shows at Live Music Venues. And If You Do It Right, You Can Make Good Money, Too!

So many musicians say’ if I only had an opportunity…’.  Well, as an aspiring artist, one of the best ways to find opportunities is to go and create them for yourself. Huh? What?  Yep. By putting yourself in the right place doing the right things, and doing them consistently, you’ll soon be there at the right time…make sense?  This is very true of finding just the right job or opportunity in the music industry and one way to really increase your chances is to do live acoustic guitar shows. And no, you don't always have to play for free--in fact, you can make some very good money, if you do it right.

For some reason, live acoustic guitar shows tend to attract the people that can help you move forward with your musical project or endeavors. Maybe it’s because there isn’t a whole band around the person / act and they can get a better feel for that person’s abilities, without the distraction. Maybe it’s because smaller 1-3 person acoustic acts are more ‘personal’ in nature. I don’t know what it is conclusively, but I can tell you from personal experience that if you hone your abilities and keep doing acoustic gigs at a live music venue that gets a good amount of traffic, especially successful business people, has good food, etc, there’s a good chance one of those people will see you one day and go ‘I know someone you need to talk to’ or ‘hi, I own a record label and I’d like to record you’.

This very thing happened to me after playing a place like this for about 2 ½ years.  Two and a half years? Yes, and I needed the time to improve my craft anyway so it was perfect timing. There is a saying ‘when the student is ready, the teacher will appear’, and it applies here.  Just keep doing what your doing, the right way, in the right place, and soon the right person to help will appear. And now I’m finishing up recording a professional EP at a well-known studio, worked with some famous songwriters already, and making plans for a tour. Wow. Yeah, that’s what I said!

Now, finding opportunities like this can be done profitably too—i.e. you don’t have to play for free or lose your shirt. You can actually make good to excellent money that will go a long way toward supporting you and find the opportunities you want. True, to find the music opportunities best suited to you will require that you do some research on the live music venue and find out a few things, such as what kind of clientele normally visits, age/income brackets, have other artists found opportunities there, etc. Just become friends with the owner or manager and you can often get this information.  Then take the attitude that you are trying to help the business owner do well, sell more drinks/food, and do what it takes to accomplish that—and when their numbers go up, you’ll have some new friend that will try to help you, as well.

Doing live acoustic guitar shows profitably for you and the venue, and finding opportunities, is why I wrote the ebook  Acoustic Guitar Money.  It’s packed with information to help you do these type of acoustic guitar shows right and get where you want to go, whether you’re just starting out or you’re an experienced player looking for ways to make more money (and avoid having to get second or third job) and find opportunities.  And no, you don’t even have to know how to play acoustic guitar.  If your skill is singing, just find a guitar player or keyboard player to work with you, book / play these smaller shows consistently, the right way, and it works just the same. 

And believe in yourself—you CAN do this. If you couldn’t, you wouldn’t have such a passion for music.  If you have musical skill, it’s in your blood and there’s no way for you to fail except if you don’t do it. Now get the information you need and get out there and achieve your dreams!

Rex Murphy
Acoustic Guitar Money
http://www.acousticguitarmoney.com

Singer Songwriter Contest Soon!

Singer Songwriter Contest Coming Soon--Only a Few Slots Left! Check it Out!

https://www.facebook.com/events/201957083245235/

Tips On How To Make Money With Your Music: http://www.acousticguitarmoney.com

Need a Job in Music? Check This Out!

http://www.acousticguitarmoney.com

Free Recording Software Download!

Yep, there is actually some free recording software that you can download to pretty much any computer! It's called Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)  You can use this to get a decent recording using your laptop microphone or another mic attached to the mic input of your computer.

Use it to jot down song ideas, collaborate with other people, etc.  It's pretty cool for some free recording software!

Have a great day!

ASPA

Songwriters: How to Write a #1 Hit

Hey Guys--this guy has done it and he's sharing his songwriting secrets---incredible information. This is one of the FEW book /courses on songwriting that we recommend--it's called Strong Songwriting. And the author, Morgan Cryar, even has a free e-course you can download. Very cool.

Great Book: Shortcuts To Hit Songwriting

A GREAT book to help hone your craft as a songwriter is Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting by Robin Frederick. Robin has had numerous writing / hit song credits and really lays out some simple methods to help your songs go from good to GREAT!. Just look the book up on Amazon.com This is one of our favorite books on songwriting.

Looking for Songwriting, Movie Opportunities? Check Out TaxiMusic.com

If you haven't heard of it before, Taxi is a great opportunity to get your music heard by music industry professionals, record labels, producers, movie producers, etc, with opportunity listings you can send your music to for immediate consideration!  We highly recommend them. http://www.taximusic.com  Of course, for a direct line to opportunities, they do charge a fee, and unless it's changed, it's $299 for the first year and $199 a  year thereafter. But some people have gotten record deals, had their music used for commercials, movie soundtracks, etc, paying them a lot more than the yearly fee. If you've got good recordings, this is a place where 'you get more than what you pay for', in our opinion.

Welcome To The American Songwriters and Performers Association Blog

Welcome to the American Songwriters and Performers Association Blog! We created this association for all songwriters and artists to collaborate, share information, improve our craft, and help each other increase our chances of success!

If you have tips, questions, anything, please post a comment! And we've got some good articles, artist / songwriter spotlights, competitions, and more coming--stay tuned!